BASF will build a commercial scale battery recycling black mass plant in Schwarzheide, Germany, said the company.
This investment strengthens BASF’s cathode active materials (CAM) production and recycling hub in Schwarzheide. The site is an ideal location for the build-up of battery recycling activities given the presence of many EV car manufacturers and cell producers in Central Europe. This investment will create about 30 new production jobs, with startup planned for early 2024.
Black mass production is the first step in the battery recycling process and is based on mechanical treatment of the batteries. The produced black mass contains high amounts of the key metals used to produce CAM: lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese. It will be the feedstock for the commercial hydrometallurgical refinery for battery recycling that BASF plans to build mid of this decade.
"With this investment in a commercial scale battery recycling black mass plant, we take the next step to establish the full battery recycling value chain at BASF. This allows us to optimize the end-to-end recycling process and reduce the CO2 footprint,” said Dr. Peter Schuhmacher, President, Catalysts division at BASF. “The closed loop from end-of-life batteries to CAM for new batteries, supports our customers along the entire battery value chain, reduces the dependency from mined raw materials and enables a circular economy."
Battery recycling is an important lever to reduce the CO2 footprint of battery electric vehicles, and is key to meet ambitious, circularity-driven policy requirements, expected under the proposed EU Battery Regulation. These will cover recycling efficiency of lithium-ion batteries, as well as material recovery and recycled content targets for nickel, cobalt and lithium.
As per MRC, BASF Shanshan Battery Materials Co., Ltd. (BSBM) is expanding its battery materials capacity in China to meet fast-growing demands of the electric vehicle industry. The expansion project at its sites in Changsha, Hunan province, and Shuizuishan, Ningxia province, will enable BSBM to achieve 100,000 tonnes of annual capacity for cathode active materials, the company said in a statement.
As per MRC, BASF completed a double-digit million euro investment to increase production capacity for Tinopal CBS optical brighteners at its Monthey site. Following phase one of the stepwise capacity increase in 2021, the recent completion of the investment program has now brought significantly increased capacity on stream to meet growing global customer demand.
BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
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