Porsche has produced battery cells using cathode active material made entirely from recycled raw materials for the first time.

The milestone is part of a pilot project with German battery recycler cylib, focused on recovering valuable raw materials from end-of-life high-voltage batteries and returning them to the battery production cycle.

From end-of-life batteries to new cells

The pilot project uses raw materials recovered from Porsche’s own high-voltage batteries. The recycled cathode active materials include lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese.

The project has now moved from material recovery to testing battery cells containing the fully recycled cathode active material under real-world conditions. Initial tests have indicated the technical feasibility, with further results expected in the second half of 2026.

Mechanical and hydrometallurgical recovery

Technically, the process combines mechanical shredding with cylib’s water-based hydrometallurgical recovery, extracting lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite from battery material for reuse in new battery cells.

Since May 2026, end-of-life high-voltage batteries collected from Porsche Centres across Germany have been processed using the water-based recycling process.

The recovered battery raw materials are tracked through a dedicated material account and are expected to become available to Porsche and selected partner companies for battery cell production from 2028.

Closing the battery loop

The pilot project is designed to support a more closed-loop battery supply chain in Europe by returning recovered raw materials to battery production and reducing reliance on primary raw materials and global supply sources.

Joachim Scharnagl, Member of the Executive Board for Procurement at Porsche, described battery cells made entirely from recycled raw materials such as lithium and cobalt as an important technological milestone.

According to Porsche, the next step is to ensure that the recycled raw materials meet the company’s requirements for value, quality and performance in battery applications. Insights from the pilot project will form the basis for a potential future application of these materials in series-production battery cells.

About cylib

Founded in Aachen, Germany, in 2022, cylib originated from research at RWTH Aachen University. The company develops battery recycling technologies covering battery discharging, dismantling, mechanical processing and hydrometallurgical recovery.

The partnership with Porsche demonstrates the intended closed-loop route: raw materials recovered from end-of-life Porsche batteries can be processed into new battery materials and used to manufacture new battery cells for testing.

Battery recycling and the circular economy

The project forms part of Porsche’s broader efforts to conserve raw materials and develop circular solutions across the vehicle value chain, including high-voltage battery recycling, the use of circular materials, waste reduction and remanufacturing of vehicle components.