German chemical company BASF has commissioned a new plant in Schwarzheide, Brandenburg, for the mechanical processing of used batteries. The plant can process up to 15,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries and production waste each year. According to BASF, this equates to approximately 40,000 electric vehicle batteries.
The focus is on producing black mass, a mixture of materials containing valuable metals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese. In the new plant, the battery components are separated using mechanical processes. The black mass obtained then serves as the starting material for the subsequent chemical recovery of the required metals for producing cathode materials. According to BASF, the site meets the requirements of the EU Battery Regulation.
BASF began planning a prototype plant for metal recovery in Schwarzheide in 2021, marking the start of its battery recycling activities. The following year, the company announced plans to build this large-scale plant for black mass production. Commissioning was originally planned for early 2024. BASF also operates a cathode material production facility in Schwarzheide.
Source:
https://www.basf.com/global/de/media/news-releases/2025/06/p-25-112
