Automobil-Cluster: Taking battery recycling to the next level

Date: 09.06.2026
Thematic focus: Shaping the energy and mobility transition

Batterie-Recycling — Planned battery recycling facility by FILL; photo: FILL

The “BattBox” project provides a modular dismantling concept for traction batteries, developed by a consortium led by Fill and supported by the Automotive Cluster.

A consortium led by plant engineering company Fill spent three years analysing various cell types and developing automated, scalable dismantling processes. The project was initiated and supported by the Automotive Cluster of Business Upper Austria, the Upper Austrian location agency.

At its core is a new assessment methodology inspired by Einstein’s famous formula of relativity, E=mc², which jointly analyses process and product effects. It shows how changes in the dismantling process affect the economic viability, safety and reusability of batteries. This facilitates investment decisions and improves planning certainty for future facilities.

The concept is flexible and can be adapted to different cell types, volumes and safety requirements. There is already interest from the recycling industry, as well as concrete offers, including for German companies. As market volumes increase and secondlife applications become more relevant, battery recycling is gaining significant importance.

“BattBox” provides a technical foundation for this development and is regarded as an important step towards a scalable circular economy and greater raw material security in Europe. Gerald Warter, Project Manager at the Automotive Cluster, sums it up: “The ‘BattBox’ project has significantly deepened the recycling value chain in Austria.”

Project partners

The “BattBox” project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI) as part of the 2022 Circular Economy – Energy and Environmental Technology call.

Web links for more information

• www.automobil-cluster.at – Website of the Automobil Cluster
• www.biz-up.at/artikel/batterie-recycling-auf-neuem-level – Fulllength news article about the project