KoM RECOBATS Project

On February 20, 2025, at the facilities of the Multisectorial Research Technological Center (CETIM), located at the Alvedro Business Park, Calle H, 20, 15180 Culleredo, A Coruña, the Kick-off Meeting (KoM) was held, marking the official start of the RECOBATS project. The project is carried out by a consortium consisting of 11 entities—7 companies and 4 research organizations. The partners in the RECOBATS project demonstrate a high level of complementarity and interrelation, both in the project’s activities and in its market orientation across the various value chains of battery recycling.

Envirobat Spain is joining the RECOBATS project (Development of a Comprehensive Battery Recycling Strategy), whose overall objective is to develop a comprehensive and versatile strategy for the second life and recycling of lithium-ion batteries for electromobility at the end of their useful life. The project covers the research of technologies at different stages of the process: from logistics and transportation safety, deactivation, automatic disassembly, and cell condition diagnostics, to battery regeneration and direct recycling through selective separation for the recovery of cathode, anode, copper, and aluminum, as well as indirect recycling from black mass for the recovery of strategic materials and graphite at a purity level suitable for a second life.

The total budget for RECOBATS is around €4.5M, with public aid exceeding 60% of the investment, and Envirobat has received a grant of over €450,000 for its participation. RECOBATS is being developed with the support and funding of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Government of Spain, which, thanks to the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, has deployed new scientific and innovation policy instruments oriented towards priority strategic areas. Among these instruments is the Science and Innovation Missions Program of the Center for Technological Development and Innovation E.P.E. (CDTI) in strategic lines of the State Innovation Agency (AEI), through the “Transmissions Initiative 2024” call. The objective is to promote knowledge transfer and foster collaboration among public institutions or entities (such as Technological Centers and Universities), private industrial companies, and specialized private R&D centers to jointly develop coordinated R&D actions.

The project will have a duration of 48 months, and its initiatives will significantly contribute to the improvement of environmental sustainability, reduction of landfill waste, and the promotion of electromobility and renewable energy. The outcome of RECOBATS will boost the recovery of critical metals and improve environmental sustainability by increasing the recovery of lithium by 76% compared to the current state of the art, 28% for cobalt and nickel, and more than 30% for copper. This will reduce CO₂ emissions by at least 70% compared to the extraction of these critical minerals through traditional mining.

Envirobat Spain’s CEO, Don Borja Álvarez, attended the RECOBATS KoM and stated:

“Envirobat’s expertise in disassembly processes and the previous research developed in this area make it a unique company for achieving the objectives set out in the project. Our research and participation will be aimed at obtaining a comprehensive view of the battery—from the module to its recycling—also considering possible alternative second-life applications once the automotive lifecycle has ended, as well as the recyclability of its components. For Envirobat, it is a challenge to devise a new recycling and recovery process compatible with battery technologies, one that surpasses current recyclability thresholds by adopting a cleaner, more sustainable, and environmentally superior technology that is also more selective and efficient in the extraction and recovery of the metals present in the batteries.

We hope that the experience and development of RECOBATS will generate opportunities for the implementation of new projects based on Innovation and Research, with the commitment and responsibility to enable sustainable growth based on a circular economy. Devising new recycling and recovery processes compatible with discarded battery technologies and fostering Industrial Symbiosis will be Envirobat’s new proposals in the near future, to continue adding value to the recycling industry’s value chain—and above all, to learn.”