URT at the forefront of lithium-ion battery recycling

Across Europe, North America and Asia, new capacity is being commissioned to match rising battery production volumes and future, growing, end-of-life returns. The sector is shifting its focus from proof of concept to operational reliability under industrial conditions.

German plant engineering company URT has positioned itself as a technology provider for large-scale lithium-ion battery recycling plants. The company recently delivered a facility in Meppen, Germany. Operated by RE. LION.BAT.

Circular, the plant has a processing capacity of four tonnes per hour. It is among the largest lithium-ion battery recycling facilities in Europe and forms part of a broader portfolio of international industrial projects executed by URT.

RECYCLING TECH HERITAGE

Founded 30 years ago, URT specialises in plant engineering for depollution and material recovery. The company focuses exclusively on recycling technologies and develops industrial installations designed to safely remove hazardous components while maximising the recovery of valuable raw materials.

Over three decades, the company has developed turnkey plants for complex waste streams such as e-scrap and lithium-ion batteries. URT’s engineering model is structured as a full-scope delivery approach.

Rather than focusing solely on individual process steps, the company integrates regulatory alignment, permitting support, process development, engineering, construction, commissioning and long-term service into a unified project framework. This end-to-end responsibility reduces interface risks and ensures that plant performance, compliance and operational stability are considered from the earliest stages.

THE INERT CHALLENGE

Lithium-ion batteries contain flammable electrolytes, reactive additives and a wide range of chemistries that require controlled mechanical processing. To address these challenges, URT applies a thermomechanical treatment approach. Following deep discharge and the partial disassembly of cells, modules or appliance batteries, the material is shredded in an inert atmosphere.

The use of dedicated airlock systems ensures that the process remains permanently sealed from the surrounding environment. On the one hand, this reduces oxygen ingress into the plant and lowers nitrogen consumption. On the other, it prevents the release of pollutants into the plant’s surroundings.

To ensure safe plant operation, both the inert atmosphere and the temperatures within the shredding area are continuously monitored at multiple measurement points. In developing this concept, URT draws on extensive experience from other areas of its business.

For more than 25 years, the company has been designing recycling plants for end-of-life refrigeration appliances. In these applications, shredding is also carried out under low-oxygen conditions, while hydrocarbon blowing agents released from the insulation foam are safely captured.

These proven safety concepts have been transferred and specifically adapted to lithium-ion battery processing at industrial scale.

DRYING STRATEGY

Removing the electrolyte from the process leads to material which allows a proper separation of the black mass. The drying stage and the parameters selected for it represent a critical factor within the overall process. In URT’s plants, this step is carried out in horizontal vacuum dryers designed for industrial throughput.

In contrast to low-temperature concepts elsewhere in the industry, URT has drying parameters well above the decomposition range of conductive salts. The concept and the chosen parameters are based on internal shredding and drying trials conducted well before the first large-scale industrial plant was commissioned.

Based on these findings, the concept was engineered to ensure reliable drying performance and stability throughput, rather than prioritising minimal thermal input. A further positive effect of these parameters is the very low solvent content in the dried material.

As a result, the material exhibits excellent separability, which is a fundamental requirement for achieving high recovery rates and high purity of output fractions. Furthermore, except for dust removal, no additional exhaust air treatment is required in the downstream process.

During vacuum drying, volatile electrolyte components evaporate and are subsequently condensed, collected and treated. This controlled solvent management constitutes a key element of both plant safety and material preparation.

BLACK MASS RECOVERY

After drying, the material is separated into defined fractions of ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals such as aluminium and copper, plastics and black mass. According to URT clients’ operations, dry black mass recovery exceeds 98%.

Beyond the recovery rate, the consistency and purity of black mass are critical for downstream refin-therefore engineered to produce repeatable output characteristics across varying feedstock compositions and battery chemistries.

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

Battery recycling is subject to stringent emission limits. To ensure compliance, URT employs a two-stage exhaust gas after-treatment system. The exhaust air collected within the plant is initially treated in a gas scrubber, where halogens, formed particularly during the decomposition of conductive salts, are neutralised.

The hydrocarbon-containing exhaust air is subsequently directed to a second treatment stage. Here, either an adsorption-based solution or regenerative thermal oxidation can be applied. Both options ensure full compliance with applicable standards and one will be chosen based on site-specific requirements.

The exhaust air concept is engineered to meet stringent regulatory frameworks and to provide long-term permitting stability across different jurisdictions.

GLOBAL TRACK RECORD

The RE.LION.BAT. Circular facility in Meppen represents one of eight industrial lithium-ion battery recycling plants delivered by URT. The company has implemented multiple installations internationally based on the same thermomechanical inert treatment principle.

These plants operate in fully automated mode and apply the same core process architecture, demonstrating repeatability and scalability across different sites. ‘It is impressive to see how this flagship project was realised in such a short period of time,’ says URT’s chief technology officer Rainer Hock. ‘I would especially emphasise the strong collaboration between all parties. Throughout the entire process, the focus was consistently on the task at hand and the result speaks for itself.’

‘The consistent bilateral collaboration during the Re.Lion.Bat. project has enabled me to rapidly expand my expertise,’ comments URT’s head of LIBs engineering Sascha Engelmann. ‘At the same time, the project builds on a strong foundation of existing know-how, with the resulting processes and engineering designs informing future plant planning and implementation. This clearly shows that our approach to lithium-ion battery recycling works reliably on an industrial scale.’

Among earlier milestones was a pilot plant commissioned by the Volkswagen Group in 2018 for the treatment of lithium-ion battery modules. This installation served to optimise atmosphere control, mechanical processing parameters and black mass quality under industrially relevant conditions.

The operational experience informed the engineering of subsequent large-scale facilities.

MODULAR ARCHITECTURE, CAPACITY SCALABILITY

URT’s lithium-ion recycling plants are engineered with a modular architecture that allows capacity expansion without fundamental redesign of the core process. Additional shredding, drying or separation units can be integrated as return volumes increase, while maintaining defined safety and depollution standards.

This design approach enables operators to align capital expenditure with market development. In battery recycling, where return streams evolve over time and production scrap volumes may precede end-of-life flows, phased capacity expansion reduces investment risk while preserving process stability.

LONG-TERM VIABILITY URT states that its lithium-ion recycling plants do not rely on patent-protected operating parameters requiring per-tonne royalty payments. For operators, this reduces exposure to volume-based licensing costs and enhances long-term financial predictability.

Combined with structured service concepts and lifecycle support integrated from project inception, this approach reflects URT’s orientation as a family-owned plant manufacturer focused on durable industrial partnerships.

As the battery recycling industry continues to scale globally, the ability to deliver fully integrated, regulation-compliant and operationally stable plants is becoming a defining factor for long-term success.

In this environment, engineering depth, process robustness and end-to-end project responsibility are emerging as key differentiators for technology providers.