Mercedes-Benz to Build its Own Battery Recycling Plant in Southern Germany

Mercedes-Benz says it’s starting to build its own battery recycling plant in Germany. Together with technology partner Primobius and renowned research institutes, the pilot project is scheduled to start in 2023.

Mercedes-Benz is investing a double-digit million euro amount in research and development, as well as in the construction of the CO₂-neutral pilot plant at the Mercedes-Benz location in Kuppenheim in southern Germany. 

The pilot plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 2,500 tonnes.

The recovered materials will be fed back into the recycling loop to produce more than 50,000 battery modules for new Mercedes-EQ models. 

Primobius aims to commercialize an advanced recycling technology that can sustainably recover recyclables such as lithium, nickel and cobalt from used lithium-ion batteries (LiBs).

Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Production and Supply Chain Management, says: “Mercedes-Benz is pursuing a clear goal with a view to conserving resources: a maximum circular economy for all raw materials used. Sustainable battery recycling is a key factor in this – worldwide. With our new recycling plant at the Kuppenheim location, we are increasing the recycling rate to more than 96 percent while expanding our own expertise in the area of battery value creation. Through targeted collaborative ventures with high-tech partners in China and the U.S., we are globalizing our battery recycling strategy and taking a decisive step toward closing the recycling loop in e-mobility.”

Horst Krenn, Managing Director of Primobius, adds: “Intelligent recycling significantly enhances the CO₂ balance of lithium-ion batteries and shortens the time to reach the CO₂ ‘break-even’ of electric cars in the future. We are proud to be one of the first to realize a resource-efficient recycling technology in the heart of Europe. The joint project with Mercedes-Benz shows that our two-stage recycling process, and particularly the high recovery rates with hydrometallurgy, already meets the industry’s needs today.”

Mercedes Benz is planning to close the recyclable material loop with high-tech partners for battery recycling in China and the US.