Porsche said it has reached a new milestone in its battery recycling efforts through a pilot project focused on high-voltage battery recovery and reuse. For the first time, the company produced battery cells made with cathode active material derived entirely from recycled raw materials. The recycled inputs include lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese.
The pilot project is being carried out with partners including the German recycling specialist cylib. According to Porsche, the company used only raw materials recovered from its own high-voltage batteries to produce the new cells. Those cells are now undergoing extensive testing under real-world operating conditions. Porsche said the effort is intended to support a more closed-loop approach to battery production and, over time, improve the resilience of its supply of critical raw materials.
The recycling process begins with end-of-life high-voltage batteries collected from Porsche Centers in Germany. The batteries are first discharged and dismantled before being mechanically shredded into an intermediate product known as black mass. Since May 2026, Porsche has been using a water-based recycling process for this material. The recovered raw materials are tracked through a dedicated material account and are expected to be available for battery cell production starting in 2028.
Porsche said the key focus of the project is not only material recovery, but also the quality of the recycled output. The company is evaluating whether the recovered materials meet its standards for value, performance and consistency in battery applications. Early testing has indicated technical feasibility, with additional results expected in the second half of 2026. Porsche said the findings from the pilot program could inform potential future use of recycled materials in series-production battery cells.
The company described the initiative as part of its broader circular economy strategy, which includes responsible use of materials, waste reduction, circular concepts across the vehicle value chain and remanufacturing of components.
Source: Porsche Newsroom
