LIFE GRAPhiREC partners recently met at the VARTA Consumer Batteries alkaline plant in Dischingen, Germany, for the project’s eighth Technical Working Group meeting and an accompanying visit to the model shop and alkaline battery production plant.
The visit offered partners a valuable opportunity to connect project discussions with the real industrial context in which battery materials are processed, tested and used. It also provided a clear reminder that graphite is not only a strategic material for future technologies, but also part of everyday battery products used in homes, workplaces and industries across Europe.
During the visit, partners heard that production at the Dischingen site is in the range of around five million batteries per day, corresponding to roughly four tonnes of graphite used in daily production. This scale shows why graphite deserves greater attention in discussions on Europe’s battery value chains, industrial resilience and circular raw material supply.
From an ECGA perspective, the visit also underlined the importance of strengthening circular graphite solutions in Europe. The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act and Batteries Regulation both point towards the need for more secure, sustainable and circular battery material value chains. Recycling and reusing graphite can contribute to these objectives by helping to make better use of materials already present in European battery-related waste streams.
LIFE GRAPhiREC is working to recover graphite from lithium-ion and alkaline battery waste and bring it back into new battery value chains through advanced recycling, validation and industrial cooperation. The project brings together recycling companies, research partners, graphite expertise, battery manufacturers and communication and exploitation support.
The VARTA visit is featured in the June 2026 issue of the LIFE GRAPhiREC Newsletter, which also provides updates on project progress, graphite circularity and the next steps towards recycled graphite validation.
Download the June 2026 newsletter here.