The Fraunhofer Research and Development Center for Electromobility (FZEB) has launched a new collaboration, Project ProB@tman, to advance direct recycling processes for end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. Coordinated by Netzsch-Gerätebau GmbH and supported by BMW, EurA, Fraunhofer ISC, the Netzsch Group and the University of Würzburg, the initiative aims to recover functional cathode and anode materials with higher purity and yield than conventional methods.
By 2040, Germany alone is expected to retire up to 360,000 metric tons of lithium-ion batteries annually. Current pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical recycling methods recover only select components, demand high energy inputs and rely on substantial auxiliary materials. Direct recycling, by contrast, can preserve pre-processed active materials and critical raw elements, reducing energy consumption and resource usage throughout the battery life cycle.
ProB@tman focuses on each step of the recycling chain. Battery modules are safely opened under inert gas, enabling precise separation of electrode materials. New processes for debinding, sorting and purification will be tested at pilot scale. Recovered active materials are then cleaned, analyzed and regenerated according to their specific chemistries, making them ready for resynthesis into battery electrodes.
All process technologies will undergo evaluation for scalability, environmental impact and safety. A prospective life-cycle assessment will integrate process parameters and material data to highlight optimization opportunities and elevate the technological readiness level. The project’s impact could be significant: recycling 340,000 metric tons of batteries annually from 2040 may prevent up to 1.3 gigatons of CO₂ equivalents.
Additional project partners include IBU-tec advanced materials, Trumpf Laser- und Systemtechnik, Jungheinrich, Zahner Elektrik and Delfortgroup. Fraunhofer ISC contributes expertise in materials research, analytics and a pilot line for pouch-cell production. Research efforts also explore design-for-recycling approaches and digital-twin methodologies to support a fully circular lithium-ion battery economy.
Source: Fraunhofer ISC
