Vianode and FAAM report successful graphite recycling from battery waste
Norwegian battery material specialist Vianode and Italian battery manufacturer FAAM have demonstrated how waste graphite from battery production can be recycled into high-performance anode material. Both parties now aim to scale their approach for industrial use.
Image: Vianode
As part of a joint development programme, Vianode processed graphite concentrate – recovered from anode production waste at battery manufacturer FAAM – into new battery material. According to Vianode, subsequent tests have shown that the recycled product “electrochemical performance comparable to virgin graphite materials”.
In the project, Vianode contributed its manufacturing technology for synthetic graphite, while FAAM provided its expertise in battery production. The partners describe their demonstration as another step towards solving one of the battery industry’s biggest circular economy challenges: recovering and reusing graphite while maintaining the performance, purity and consistency required for lithium-ion batteries.
Building on the results now presented, the companies aim to expand their collaboration to scale the recycling process for industrial use and further integrate recycled graphite into battery production. According to an accompanying statement, the goal is to enable a circular solution that improves resource efficiency, reduces waste and strengthens regional battery supply chains.
Background: While recycling infrastructure for battery metals such as nickel, cobalt and copper is advancing, graphite recycling remains a complex challenge. “Due to stringent requirements for material purity and battery performance, large-scale recovery and reuse of battery-grade graphite has remained limited,” states Vianode’s headquarters in Oslo. However, the current collaboration demonstrates a viable path to closing this gap.
“This collaboration demonstrates that graphite recycling can be both high-performing and scalable,” said Stefan Bergold, CCO at Vianode. “By leveraging our proprietary graphite technology, we can return production scrap directly back into the battery value chain without compromising quality. It also demonstrates the importance of European companies joining forces to strengthen regional supply chains and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable battery industry.” The Norwegian battery material specialist also intends to work closely with the German battery recycling company Cylib in this context.
Andrea Civitillo, CEO at FAAM, adds: “This achievement confirms that circularity for graphite is no longer a theoretical objective, but a concrete and scalable industrial reality. By combining our manufacturing expertise with Vianode’s advanced materials technology, we are demonstrating that production scrap can be reintegrated into the process without compromising performance.”
