Leipzig Battery Refurbishment

BMW Second Life · Leipzig, Germany · Repurposed packs

Second-life battery facility operated by BMW Second Life in Leipzig, Germany. Status: operational.

Leipzig Battery Refurbishment: recycling plant illustration with pack, shredder, black mass, leach tanks and salt bags; Repurposed packs, status operational, Germany Repurposed packs Operational Germany
Capacity
2,000 t/yr
Process
Refurbishment
Output
Repurposed packs
Hub
Supply Chain

Status

Operational: status carried from the legacy record

Process: refurbishment. Capacity: 2,000 t/yr (Legacy figure; not re-verified).

BMW second-life program for i3 packs; Leipzig plant; refurbished into stationary BESS for grid stability; EU Battery Regulation second-life compliance model; i3 discontinuation creates defined EOL wave.

Customers and offtakers: Grid storage operators.

Plant record

Plant record

Leipzig Battery Refurbishment (BMW Second Life)
CompanyBMW Second Life
PlantLeipzig Battery Refurbishment
CityLeipzig
State or provinceSaxony
CountryGermany
TypeSecond life
Processrefurbishment
Output stagerepurposed packs
Input chemistriesNMC (i3 packs)
Output productsRefurbished BESS for grid storage
Capacity (t/yr input)2000
Capacity basisLegacy figure; not re-verified
Statusoperational
Status noteStatus carried from the legacy record; not re-verified
Scalecommercial
Start year2013
Investment (US$ billion)0.0
Customers and offtakersGrid storage operators
OEM partnershipsBMW (captive)
Under EU Battery RegulationYes
Geopolitical exposureLOW
Record updated2026-10

In context

Where it fits

Listed in EV Battery Recycling Facilities; owner profile: BMW. 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 BMW Second Life and other plants in Germany
PlantCountryStatus
Krefeld Plant (Accurec Recycling)Germanyoperational
Schwarzheide Black Mass Plant (BASF)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
Leipzig Battery Refurbishment (BMW Second Life)
Sources
ElectronsX recycling dataset; company disclosures
Updated
2026-10