Hilchenbach Plant

Primobius (SMS group and Neometals) · Hilchenbach, Germany · Battery-grade salts

Battery recycling plant operated by Primobius (SMS group and Neometals) in Hilchenbach, Germany. Status: operational.

Hilchenbach Plant: recycling plant illustration with pack, shredder, black mass, leach tanks and salt bags; Battery-grade salts, status operational, Germany Battery-grade salts Operational Germany
Capacity
5,000 t/yr
Process
Mechanical + hydrometallurgy
Output
Battery-grade salts
Hub
Supply Chain

Status

Operational: status carried from the legacy record

Process: mechanical + hydrometallurgy. Capacity: 5,000 t/yr (Legacy figure; not re-verified).

Primobius JV (SMS group + Neometals); Mercedes anchor customer; EU Battery Regulation aligned; dry shredding process (no water = lower contamination risk); LFP capable.

Customers and offtakers: Mercedes / BMW.

Plant record

Plant record

Hilchenbach Plant (Primobius (SMS group and Neometals))
CompanyPrimobius (SMS group and Neometals)
PlantHilchenbach Plant
CityHilchenbach
State or provinceNorth Rhine-Westphalia
CountryGermany
TypeRecycler
Processmechanical + hydrometallurgy
Output stagebattery-grade salts
Input chemistriesNMC, LFP
Output productsBlack mass; battery salts
Capacity (t/yr input)5000
Capacity basisLegacy figure; not re-verified
Statusoperational
Status noteStatus carried from the legacy record; not re-verified; legacy record named SES AI, which is not a partner
Scalecommercial
Start year2022
Investment (US$ billion)0.2
Customers and offtakersMercedes / BMW
OEM partnershipsMercedes primary
Under EU Battery RegulationYes
Geopolitical exposureLOW
Record updated2026-10

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 Primobius (SMS group and Neometals) and other plants in Germany
PlantCountryStatus
Krefeld Plant (Accurec Recycling)Germanyoperational
Schwarzheide Black Mass Plant (BASF)Germanyoperational
Leipzig Battery Refurbishment (BMW Second Life)Germanyoperational
Magdeburg Spoke (Glencore (formerly Li-Cycle))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
Hilchenbach Plant (Primobius (SMS group and Neometals))
Sources
ElectronsX recycling dataset; company disclosures
Updated
2026-10