Porsche has completed the third and final phase of a pilot project with battery recycling startup Cylib, producing battery cells whose cathode active material is derived entirely from recycled lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese recovered from the automaker's own decommissioned high-voltage batteries. The process began with mechanical shredding of end-of-life packs from Porsche development vehicles into black mass, which Cylib then refined and separated into individual raw materials suitable for new cell production. These recovered materials were used to manufacture cells now entering testing in Porsche trial vehicles, with initial results already indicating technical viability and further data expected later this year.
Beyond the R&D milestone, Porsche is already applying lessons from the project to its operational battery disposal chain: since May 2026, batteries at Porsche centres in Germany have been processed through a water-based recycling method. Cylib will hold the recovered raw materials in a material account, making them available to Porsche and selected partners for battery cell production starting in 2028.
The effort is framed against Europe's raw material dependence, particularly on Chinese supply chains for lithium, nickel and cobalt. Recycled feedstock from end-of-life batteries offers a potential domestic source, aligning with EU Critical Raw Materials Act and Battery Regulation requirements for minimum recycled content. Porsche has not disclosed cell chemistry, capacity or performance data for the recycled cells, nor specific plans for series production integration beyond the stated 2028 material availability timeline.
Source: electrive.com — read the original article