H.C. Starck Tungsten receives millions in funding for battery recycling
Goslar, GERMANY, April 2, 2025 – The German federal government and the state government of Lower Saxony want to support the recycling of battery black mass at H.C. Starck Tungsten in Goslar with over 60 million euros. This decision was confirmed today by Lower Saxony’s Economics Minister Olaf Lies, also on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economics, to the company’s CEO, Dr. Hady Seyeda, at the Hannover trade fair.
At the heart of the project is an innovative, particularly efficient process developed by H.C. Starck Tungsten for recovering valuable metals from so-called “black mass” – the ground-up components of used lithium-ion batteries after the casing has been removed.
The process, for which six patent applications have been filed, achieves a significantly better raw material yield compared to established methods, while consuming considerably less auxiliary materials and energy. It also produces only a tenth of the CO2 emissions that would be generated by mining primary lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese.
Parent company supports project
For an industrial-scale application, H.C. Starck Tungsten is considering the construction of a plant in the Oker Metallurgical Park with an investment volume of around 340 million euros. The corresponding funding application was also supported by the parent company Mitsubishi Materials Corporation.
If the further project steps go according to plan, the two-year construction work could begin in the first half of 2027. The target recycling capacity is around 20,000 tons of black mass per year, comparable to the battery content of around 100,000 small electric cars.
Regional, national and European sustainability
The funds, 70 percent of which are being provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and 30 percent by the state of Lower Saxony, are being awarded as part of the EU directive on the “resilience and sustainability of the battery cell production ecosystem”. Accordingly, they are intended to help establish and expand production capacities along the battery value chain in Germany and the European Union, secure employment and value creation in Germany and ultimately enable climate-friendly mass production of sustainably produced battery cells in Europe.
At regional level, the funding decision aims to strengthen Goslar as a location for innovation, business and production, to mitigate the negative effects of structural change and to promote the operation of particularly sustainable industrial plants.
Dr. Hady Seyeda, CEO of H.C. Starck Tungsten, says: “This comprehensive funding commitment is an important step towards the industrial use of our innovative technology for the recycling of black mass. We are delighted that the federal and state governments are supporting the implementation of our concept in such a concrete way.”
Lower Saxony’s Economics Minister Olaf Lies added: “Southern Lower Saxony and Goslar in particular have a strong tradition in ore mining and metal processing. The state of Lower Saxony has long been supporting the region in becoming internationally competitive in the field of recycling and optimizing the value chains in the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. The funding of H.C. Starck Tungsten is a milestone for the environmentally friendly recycling of black mass on an industrial scale and thus makes an important contribution to securing raw materials and safeguarding industrial jobs.”
