BASF in Schwarzheide participates in the DemoRec research project

BASF Schwarzheide GmbH has joined a consortium consisting of research institutes and other companies from the fields of automotive engineering, mechanical engineering, materials and recycling. The aim is to further industrialise the dismantling process of automotive traction batteries, which is currently still largely carried out manually, and to further increase the degree of automation within the dismantling process. The project will run for three years and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the SynBatt call for proposals.

With the growing market share of electric vehicles on the roads, the number of battery systems that have to be taken out of service and recycled after their useful life in the vehicle is also increasing. In terms of a sustainable closed-loop approach, this requires scalable processes along the value chain from the removal from the vehicle to the return of the materials to the production of new battery generations.

Battery disassembly plays a central role within this process chain, since on the one hand a wide variety of designs and individual battery conditions have to be dealt with. On the other hand, continuous material flows are needed for recycling. To this end, the research project is investigating the question of increasing the degree of automation within battery disassembly, taking into account the above-mentioned boundary conditions.

A central project goal is the construction of a system prototype for linking automated and manual process steps in battery disassembly.

Within the project duration of three years, the product- and process-related challenges of current and future battery system generations (cell-to-pack) are to be investigated and a plant prototype developed. Further core aspects are the interface processes of discharging and mechanical pre-processing before recycling as well as the derivation of guidelines for a design for disassembly of future traction batteries.

Read more: DemoRec - RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY PEM - English (rwth-aachen.de)

About BASF Battery Materials

BASF is a leading global supplier of advanced cathode active materials (CAM) for the lithium-ion batteries market, providing high-performance CAM to the world’s largest cell producers and for leading OEM platforms. We complement our portfolio with base metals sourcing and management, as well as various battery recycling solutions, including closed loop offerings. By leveraging our industry-leading R&D platforms and passion for innovation, BASF Battery Materials develops unique, proprietary solutions that drive customer success. Further information is available on the internet at www.catalysts.basf.com.

  

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 112,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €68.9 billion in 2023. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.