Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Conference / February 03, 2026 - February 05, 2026
2nd Conference on Battery Direct Recycling
February 3-5, 2026
Congress Centrum Wuerzburg
Congress Centrum Würzburg
The direct recycling of battery materials is a key strategy for maximizing sustainability and strengthening geopolitical independence along the battery value chain. Not least with the new EU Battery Regulation, this innovative recycling process is increasingly coming into focus. The regulation demands batteries with a low carbon footprint, stricter regulations for critical raw materials (CRM), and high-quality recycling processes with defined recovery rates for CRM. In addition, the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) places a stronger emphasis on circular economy and efficient recycling.
To advance this future topic, the Fraunhofer Center for Electromobility Bavaria (FZEB) of Fraunhofer ISC invites you to the second "Conference on Battery Direct Recycling." The event brings together leading experts from science, industry, and politics to exchange ideas on key topics such as design for recycling, innovative recycling methods, digitalization, life cycle assessment, as well as political and economic frameworks, and to create a strong network for the future of battery recycling. At the first conference in 2024, over 150 participants from research and industry took the opportunity for professional exchange and actively contributed to building a strong community for the direct recycling of batteries.
We look forward to providing a platform for this forward-looking topic again in 2026!
Day 1 / February 3, 2026
Registration 10:00 CET, Start 12:00 CET
Session 1: POLICY |
| Sustainable Batteries: Advancing Circular Economy Strategies in a European Battery Value Chain (Maximilian Stephan, Fraunhofer ISI) |
| Strategic Pathways for Circular Battery Supply Chains (Markus Gerschberger, Supply Chain Intelligence Institute Austria (ASCII) and University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria) |
Session 2: PROCESSES |
| Development of sustainable direct recycling and upcycling technologies for Li-ion battery cathodes (George P. Demopoulos, McGill University) |
| Innovative Direct Reshaping and Reconditioning of NMC Cathode Active Material from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries (Max Larry, University of Liege) |
| Direct Recycling of NMC Scraps: Impact of Fluorine Release During Calcination Revealed by Advanced Multi-Scale Characterization (Margaux Lebvre, IEF France) |
Session 3: PROCESSES |
| Shredding & Sorting for Better Black Mass: Morphology Matters in Direct Recycling (Rob Sommerville, University of Birmingham) |
| Can we close the loop? Direct recycling to enable a sustainable battery value chain (Andreas Flegler, Fraunhofer ISC) |
| Recycled Type Lithium Ion Battery with Cathode Prepared from Black Mass by Direct Synthesis Procedure (Ryohei Mori, Green Science Alliance) |
| From Waste to Resource: Environmentally Viable Direct Recycling of Li-ion Battery Production Scraps Assisted by Pressurized Fluids (Gilles Philippot, University of Bordeaux) |
| Accelerating Direct Recycling of Lithium-Ion Batteries with Predictive Microstructure Simulation (Timotheus Jahnke, Viridis) |
| Wet and dry sustainable direct regeneration of spent LFP (Moulay-Tahar Sougrati, CNRS-ICGM) |
| An efficient molten salts-based process for the direct recycling of LFP from End-of-Life cells and manufacturing scraps (Lorenzo de Vita, University of Pavia) |
| Fast and Low-Energy Relithiation of Spent Lithium Iron Phosphate Cathode Active Material (Jeroen Spooren, Vito) |
Poster session |
Day 2 / February 4, 2026
Start 8:00 CET
Session 4: EU INITIATIVES |
| Direct recycling or creation of new data (Patrick Johansson, BATTERY 2030+ Initiative) |
| Direct recycling of Li-ion batteries: challenges, prospects and main insights from the RENOVATE project (Eliana Quartanone, University of Pavia) |
| ReUse – Efficient direct recycling for low-value LFP battery for circular and sustainable waste management (Claudia Stauch, Fraunhofer ISC) |
| REVITALISE - Materials and flows (Emma Kendrik, University of Birmingham) |
| Advancing Circularity in Battery Materials: Direct Recycling of CAMs in RESPECT project (Justo Garcia, Orano) |
| ReMade@ARI: a pioneering project for characterization of materials in the Circular Economy (Marta Mirolo, ESRF) |
Session 5: PROCESSES |
| ReCell Center: Synchrotron Characterization of Cathode Recovery Methods Through Direct Recycling (Eva Allen, Argonne National Lab) |
| New Insights for the Direct Recycling ol LIBs Materials (Sascha Nowak, University of Münster) |
| Insights into the Mechanisms Behind Structural Repair of Spent NCM Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries (Shuaiwei Liu, KIT) |
Session 6: SUSTAINABILITY |
| Battery Passport – From Compliance to Competitiveness through Product Data Intelligence (Josepha Anna Pfeiffer, Robert Bosch GmbH) |
| Techno-Economic Analysis of Black Mass Recovery: Towards Direct Recycling Applications (Lisa Schlott, University of Münster) |
| Integrating circularity into Life Cycle Assessment: Metrics to measure the sustainability of battery direct recycling (Guido Sonnemann, University of Bordeaux) |
| From Pilot to Playbook: Making the Battery Passport Work (Corinna Jendrzey, Siemens Energy Global) |
Session 7: PROCESSES |
| Industrial Pathways for LFP and Graphite Recovery: FAAM’s Approach to Scalable Battery Recycling (Carmen Cavallo, FAAM) |
| The Impact of Discharge method for Preserving the Battery electrode integrity (Neha Garg, Aalto) |
| Investigation and characterization of the de-stacking process for electrode and separator materials in the context of automated battery cell disassembly (Sebastian Henschel, KIT) |
| In-depth study of blackmass flotation to improve selectivity (Mathilde Perrin, Uni Grenoble Alpes) |
Day 3 / February 5, 2026
Start 8:00 CET, End 16:30 CET, Optional Labtour 16:45-17:45 CET
Session 8: PROCESSES |
| Industrialization and adaptation of the KYBURZ direct LFP recycling process: Opportunities and challenges (David Flaschenträger, Kyburz) |
| Laser applications in battery recycling (Max Rettenmeier, Trumpf) |
| Many Roads Lead to Delamination: Pathways for Direct Recycling of LFP Production Scraps (Hannes Bauer, Fraunhofer ISC) |
| Efficient, Selective Leaching of Battery Cathodes at Room Temperature (Joel Cornelio, University of Birmingham) |
| Direct recycling of spent anode: Challenge on graphite separation and regeneration (Cedric Espinet, IGCM University of Montpellier) |
Session 9: DESIGN FOR RECYCLING AND OTHER STRATEGIES |
| Designed for Dismantling: Debonding-on-Demand as a Key Enabler of Circular Battery Packs (Elizaveta Kessler, Henkel) |
| Particle-based magnetic additives as information providers in lithium-ion cells (Jakob Endres, Fraunhofer ISC) |
| Microstructural Design of Hybrid Cathodes with Directly Recycled Material (Melissa Popeil, NREL/Colorado School of Mines) |
| Is it really worthwhile recovering the electrolyte from end-of-life lithium ion batteries? (Camilla Zanoni, University of Pavia) |
Session 10: PROCESSES |
| Direct recycling of next generation lithium battery materials (Stiven Lopez Guzman, CICenergiGUNE) |
| Direct Recycling approaches for Ionic liquid electrolyte based Lithium-ion Batteries (Aravindda Swamy, Avesta) |
| Direct recycling of Li metal ? trials, errors and feasibility (Nanna Bjerre-Christensen, Avesta) |
| Direct recycling of anode and cathode materials from End-of-life Sodium-Ion Batteries (Bowen Liu, University of Birmingham) |
| The Organic Solution: A Fresh Look at Li-ion Battery Recycling (Thomas Bibienne, Hatch / Paolo Guida, KAUST) |
