Industrial solutions for closed battery loops
The expansion of electric mobility and stationary energy storage is leading to growing volumes of lithium-ion batteries worldwide. As a result, demand is increasing for reliable and scalable recycling capacities that meet industrial requirements across the battery value chain.
Primobius designs and delivers plants for lithium-ion battery recycling. As a wholly owned subsidiary of the SMS group, Primobius brings specialized process know-how into industrial plant engineering.
Plant engineering for lithium-ion battery recycling
Primobius is a plant engineering company that designs, builds and commissions recycling plants for lithium-ion batteries before handing them over to the plant operator. The focus lies on creating industrial-scale solutions for recovering battery materials from production scrap and end-of-life batteries—materials that would otherwise require disposal or energy-intensive treatment routes.
The process design addresses a broad range of battery-containing material streams, including batteries from consumer electronics as well as from electric vehicles and stationary energy storage systems. Recycling plants are engineered to enable the recovery of valuable materials at high quality while supporting low-emission process routes and reuse within the battery value chain.
Plant design is developed in close coordination with the operator. Capacity and throughput requirements, material characteristics, and applicable regulatory and site-specific conditions are taken into account during plant engineering.
Award winning engineering expertise
Primobius plant solutions have received multiple awards, including the German Sustainability Award 2026 and the Innovator of the Year Award 2025 of German Industry.
They recognize Primobius' sustainable, innovative approach to battery recycling and underline the strategic importance of circular technologies for Europe’s transition to sustainable electromobility and resource independence. Recycling lithium-ion batteries is a key industrial challenge of the electric vehicle era.
Multi-stage battery recycling process
Primobius recycling plants are based on a multi-stage process that begins with the safe discharging and dismantling of lithium-ion batteries. Valuable battery materials are subsequently recovered in high purity through a combination of mechanical processing followed by hydrometallurgical refining.
The shredding and beneficiation plant produces black mass and separates materials such as aluminum, plastics, and iron. The patented wet shredding process is highly efficient, intrinsically safe, and characterized by a low carbon footprint. Downstream hydrometallurgical refining enables recovery rates of more than 97% of valuable metals, exceeding EU targets for 2030. Primobius plants allow operators to produce high-value products, including battery-grade nickel and cobalt sulphate, as well as technical-grade lithium carbonate.
Want to learn more on how to regain high-purity battery materials?
Find more detailed information on technologies, plant solutions, and reference projects on the Primobius website.