BASF Battery Recycling Strategy 2025: From Market Headwinds to a Closed-Loop Future

Industry Adoption: How BASF is Navigating the Volatile Battery Recycling Market

Between 2021 and 2024, BASF embarked on an aggressive, capital-intensive strategy to dominate the emerging battery recycling market in Europe and North America. The company announced a massive €3.5-€4.5 billion investment plan (2022-2030) and initiated flagship projects, including Europe’s first co-located battery materials production and recycling center in Schwarzheide, Germany, and a planned CAM plant in Bécancour, Quebec. The approach was defined by large-scale infrastructure planning and foundational partnerships with automotive players like Porsche and battery giant CATL. This period reflected broad industry optimism, with a focus on building capacity ahead of anticipated exponential growth in electric vehicle (EV) sales and end-of-life battery volumes.

The landscape has shifted dramatically in 2025. While the earlier period was about planning for a future boom, the current year is defined by pragmatic execution and strategic recalibration in response to market realities. The most significant inflection point was BASF’s decision to pause major investments, including the planned large-scale refinery in Tarragona, Spain, and the Quebec plant, citing slower-than-expected EV market growth and a consequent lack of available feedstock. Instead of building speculatively, the company has pivoted to operationalizing its core asset: the Schwarzheide facility, which successfully launched its 15,000-ton-per-year black mass plant in June 2025. This pivot reveals a critical learning for the industry: feedstock availability, not technology, is the current bottleneck. Consequently, BASF’s strategy has matured, shifting from a primary focus on new builds to a dual approach: optimizing existing assets and aggressively securing the value chain through a flurry of partnerships. Agreements in 2025 with CATL, Porsche, Gotion, and ABTC are no longer just about future potential; they are about securing feedstock, guaranteeing offtake, and de-risking a multi-billion-euro bet in a volatile market. This variety of partnerships—spanning feedstock suppliers, battery manufacturers, and automotive OEMs—signals that broader industry adoption of circular models is moving from concept to complex, integrated commercial ecosystems.

Table: BASF’s Strategic Investments in Battery Materials and Recycling

Table: BASF’s Key Alliances in the Battery Value Chain

Geography: BASF’s European Focus and North American Pivot

Between 2021 and 2024, BASF pursued a balanced, dual-continent expansion strategy. In Europe, the focus was on establishing an integrated hub in Schwarzheide, Germany, while planning a major downstream refinery in Tarragona, Spain. Simultaneously, the company made a significant move in North America by acquiring land in Bécancour, Quebec, for a large-scale CAM and recycling plant, complemented by leveraging its existing facility in Battle Creek, Michigan. This geographical spread was designed to capture growth in two of the world’s most promising EV markets.

By 2025, this strategy has been consolidated and re-prioritized. Europe, and specifically Germany, has emerged as the clear center of gravity for BASF’s operational efforts. The successful launch of the Schwarzheide black mass plant solidifies Germany’s role as the company’s primary processing hub. The pause of the Tarragona project shifts the immediate downstream refining focus back to the prototype plant in Schwarzheide. In contrast, the North American strategy has morphed from direct, large-scale investment to a more agile, partnership-led model. With the Bécancour project on hold, the focus has shifted to the collaboration with ABTC, Nanotech, and TODA, utilizing the existing Michigan facility to create a capital-light, closed-loop system. This tells us that while Europe’s regulatory environment and industrial base make it ripe for integrated infrastructure, the North American market is being approached more cautiously, with risk shared among partners. Activity in Asia, highlighted by the Gotion and CATL partnerships, remains focused on market access and offtake, rather than building recycling infrastructure from the ground up.

Technology Maturity: BASF’s Shift from Piloting to Commercial Scale and Next-Gen R&D

In the 2021-2024 period, BASF’s focus was on validating and piloting its core recycling technologies. The partnership with Tenova Advanced Technologies (February 2023) to optimize the hydrometallurgical process and the commissioning of BHS-Sonthofen (June 2023) for the mechanical reprocessing line at Schwarzheide were critical steps in de-risking the technology. The culmination of this phase was the launch of the prototype metal refinery in Schwarzheide in April 2024. During this time, the technology was firmly in the pilot-to-pre-commercial stage, aimed at proving process efficiency and metal recovery rates before committing to larger-scale deployment.

The year 2025 marks a clear evolution from validation to commercialization and a push into next-generation technologies. The most significant event is the June 2025 launch of the commercial-scale, 15,000-ton-per-year black mass plant in Schwarzheide, moving its mechanical recycling process firmly into the commercial and scaling phase. This is no longer a test; it is a core business operation. Simultaneously, BASF is demonstrating its commitment to future-proofing its portfolio. The delivery of the first CAM for semi-solid-state batteries to WELION (August 2025) and the collaboration with Group14 (May 2025) on silicon-anode solutions show a strategic push beyond recycling into advanced battery performance materials. Furthermore, the development of chemical recycling processes like depolymerization (October 2025) indicates that BASF is already tackling the next frontier of complex materials recycling. This trend signifies that the company is executing a multi-layered technology strategy: scaling what is proven (mechanical/hydrometallurgical recycling), commercializing what is next (advanced CAM), and developing what is to come (next-gen anodes and chemical recycling).

Table: SWOT Analysis of BASF’s Battery Recycling Strategy

Forward-Looking Insights: Navigating the Next 12 Months

The data from 2025 signals a clear path for BASF in the year ahead: a laser focus on execution, risk management, and strategic innovation. Expect the company to double down on optimizing its Schwarzheide operations, aiming to maximize throughput and metal recovery rates to prove the economic viability of its flagship asset. The key signal to watch will be any announcement regarding the commercial-scale hydrometallurgical refinery intended to process the black mass from this plant; its progress will be the true test of the closed-loop model. Concurrently, BASF will likely continue its aggressive pursuit of feedstock partnerships. Look for more agreements with automotive OEMs, battery manufacturers, and logistics specialists to secure the volumes needed to feed Schwarzheide and justify future expansions.

The paused projects in Spain and Canada will remain a critical barometer of market health. Any hint at their revival would signal a major recovery in EV market sentiment and, more importantly, a loosening of the feedstock bottleneck. However, the more immediate traction will be seen in BASF’s capital-light ventures. The North American partnership with ABTC and Nanotech Energy is a model to watch, as it could be replicated to gain market access without massive upfront investment. Finally, pay close attention to news from its next-generation R&D efforts, particularly the silicon-anode work with Group14. While recycling addresses today’s value chain, these innovations represent BASF’s hedge on the future of battery performance, ensuring its relevance long after the current generation of lithium-ion chemistries matures. The strategy is clear: stabilize the core, secure the loop, and innovate for the future.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did BASF pause its major battery recycling plant investments in Spain and Canada?
BASF paused these large-scale projects in 2024 and 2025 primarily due to a slowdown in the electric vehicle (EV) market. This resulted in a lower-than-expected availability of feedstock (end-of-life batteries and production scrap), making it impractical to continue building massive capacity ahead of actual supply.

What is the current centerpiece of BASF’s battery recycling operations?
The centerpiece is the company’s facility in Schwarzheide, Germany. In June 2025, BASF launched its commercial-scale black mass production plant there, which can process 15,000 tons of battery materials per year. This site represents the shift from planning to pragmatic execution of its European circular economy strategy.

How has BASF’s strategy for securing materials and customers evolved in 2025?
In 2025, BASF shifted to an aggressive partnership-led strategy to de-risk its investments. Instead of just planning for the future, it has signed numerous agreements to solve immediate needs: securing feedstock from partners like Iveco and Stena Recycling, and guaranteeing offtake (sales) of its recycled materials through a major global agreement with battery giant CATL.

What is BASF’s new strategy for the North American market?
With the large Bécancour, Quebec, project on hold, BASF has adopted a more agile, capital-light strategy in North America. It is now focused on a partnership with ABTC, Nanotech Energy, and TODA to create a closed-loop supply chain in Michigan, using recycled metals to produce finished Cathode Active Materials (CAM). This approach shares risk and leverages existing facilities rather than building new ones from the ground up.

Is BASF only focused on recycling, or is it also innovating for future batteries?
BASF is pursuing a dual strategy. While commercializing its current recycling technology (mechanical and hydrometallurgical), it is also heavily investing in future battery performance. Key examples from 2025 include its collaboration with Group14 to develop advanced silicon-anode solutions for faster charging and its work on producing materials for next-generation semi-solid-state batteries.