Porsche to establish high-voltage battery recycling network

With a pilot project, Porsche wants to recover valuable raw materials from high-voltage batteries after their use in the vehicle and test a raw material cycle that is as closed as possible. In the future, a recycling network for high-voltage batteries is to be established together with external partners.

Porsche’s new battery recycling project is divided into three phases: “In the first project phase, high-voltage batteries from development vehicles are mechanically shredded at the end of their use-phase and processed into so-called ‘black mass.’ The resulting granulate mixture contains valuable raw materials such as nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium.” So far, Porsche writes, approximately 65 tonnes of ‘black mass’ have been produced.”

In the next step, the ‘black mass’ is to be further refined and separated into individual raw materials for battery production. Porsche emphasizes that the quality and purity of the recycled materials are particularly important in order to manufacture high-quality batteries for electric vehicles.

In the final and third pilot phase, Porsche plans to manufacture high-voltage battery cells with a defined proportion of recycled materials, as well as test their use in Porsche vehicles. According to the German company, “the pilot project demonstrates Porsche’s holistic understanding of the circular economy: valuable raw materials from decommissioned high-voltage batteries are recovered, processed, and reused in new products.”

With this move, Porsche wants to be a key player in the establishment of a European closed-loop raw battery material cycle, which will also help it get ahead of the expected requirements for batteries in the European Union, which will come into effect from 2031.

“With the help of innovative recycling processes, we strive to increase our independence from volatile and geopolitically unstable raw material markets,” says Barbara Frenkel, Executive Board Member for Procurement at Porsche. “Circular Economy is a core pillar of our sustainability strategy, and with this pilot project, we want to underscore our ambitions.”

Porsche has become increasingly involved in battery production, partially due to disappointment with the battery supply from Northvolt, and in January, Porsche took over battery manufacturer Varta, after approval from the Stuttgart Regional Court. Porsche also placed a major investment in the battery recycling startup Cylib last summer, which started construction of its battery recycling facility last September, and just announced a recycling cooperation with Webasto.

porsche.com