Porsche has manufactured battery cells using cathode active material made completely from recycled lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese, marking what the German carmaker described as a “first”.
The breakthrough forms part of a pilot programme on high-voltage battery recycling that Porsche launched last year alongside partners, including German recycling firm cylib.
The scheme involves recovering raw materials from spent high-voltage batteries, processing them into fresh materials, and deploying them in new battery cells fitted to Porsche test vehicles.
Porsche noted that this latest stage represents the “first” occasion on which recycled active materials have fully substituted for conventionally sourced primary raw materials.
Cells produced under the initiative are currently undergoing operational testing.
Porsche procurement executive board member Joachim Scharnagl said: “With battery cells made entirely from recycled raw materials such as lithium and cobalt, we have achieved an important technological milestone.
“This innovation is a key step in advancing both circular economy principles and raw material resilience, always with the ambition of optimising progress, quality and resource efficiency.”
The carmaker said its focus now turns to confirming that the recycled materials satisfy its stringent requirements around value, quality and performance in battery applications.
It added that initial tests indicated the technical feasibility of the approach, with further results expected later this year.
Porsche indicated that outcomes from the pilot scheme would inform any future deployment of these materials in battery cells built at series-production scale.
The carmaker added that lessons drawn from the project are already being incorporated into its standard battery disposal procedures.
Since May 2026, end-of-life high-voltage batteries gathered from Porsche Centres across Germany have been processed through cylib using a water-based recycling method, as part of the collaboration between the two companies.
Porsche stated that recovered raw materials are monitored via a dedicated material account, and will be made accessible to Porsche and selected partner firms for battery cell manufacturing from 2028 onwards.
The carmaker said the initiative is intended to lessen reliance on raw material sources worldwide, adding that battery materials recycled within Europe could eventually be incorporated into high-voltage batteries used in its vehicles.
cylib was established in Aachen, Germany, in 2022 by Lilian Schwich, Paul Sabarny and Gideon Schwich.
Its operations across Germany span research and development at its Aachen headquarters, hydrometallurgical processing in Dormagen, which remains under development, and dismantling alongside mechanical processing in Wernberg-Köblitz.
cylib co-CEO and co-founder Lilian Schwich added: “The pilot project with Porsche demonstrates that our approach is feasible in practice: valuable raw materials from Porsche batteries at the end of their first life can potentially flow back into new high-performance batteries for Porsche vehicles.”
