Schwarzheide Black Mass Plant

BASF · Schwarzheide, Germany · Black mass

Battery recycling plant operated by BASF in Schwarzheide, Germany. Status: operational.

Schwarzheide Black Mass Plant: recycling plant illustration with pack, shredder, black mass, leach tanks and salt bags; Black mass, status operational, Germany Black mass Operational Germany
Capacity
15,000 t/yr
Process
Mechanical
Output
Black mass
Hub
Supply Chain

Status

Operational: Commercial operation since June 2025

Process: mechanical. Capacity: 15,000 t/yr (Nameplate (BASF)).

BASF black mass plant beside its Schwarzheide CAM plant; refining step planned separately.

Customers and offtakers: BMW / BASF customers.

Plant record

Plant record

Schwarzheide Black Mass Plant (BASF)
CompanyBASF
PlantSchwarzheide Black Mass Plant
CitySchwarzheide
State or provinceBrandenburg
CountryGermany
TypeRecycler
Processmechanical
Output stageblack mass
Input chemistriesNMC, NCA
Output productsBlack mass (refining planned separately)
Capacity (t/yr input)15000
Capacity basisNameplate (BASF)
Statusoperational
Status noteCommercial operation since June 2025
Scalecommercial
Start year2025
Investment (US$ billion)0.3
Customers and offtakersBMW / BASF customers
OEM partnershipsBMW primary
Under EU Battery RegulationYes
Geopolitical exposureLOW
Record updated2026-10

Official site: basf.com

In context

Where it fits

Listed in EV Battery Recycling Facilities. Recyclers are compared on where they stop: shredding to black mass, smelting to alloy, or refining to battery-grade salts that go back into cathode plants; only refining keeps the metal in the region. See Battery Recycling for the process and the market.

Other plants of BASF and other plants in Germany
PlantCountryStatus
Krefeld Plant (Accurec Recycling)Germanyoperational
Leipzig Battery Refurbishment (BMW Second Life)Germanyoperational
Magdeburg Spoke (Glencore (formerly Li-Cycle))Germanyoperational
Hilchenbach Plant (Primobius (SMS group and Neometals))Germanyoperational
Multiple EU Sites (REMONDIS Battery Recycling)Germanyoperational
Salzgitter Recycling Pilot Plant (Volkswagen Group Components)Germanyoperational
Dormagen Plant (Cylib)Germanyunder construction

Sources

Sources and scope

Scope
Schwarzheide Black Mass Plant (BASF)
Sources
ElectronsX recycling dataset; company disclosures
Updated
2026-10