On the 1st of October 2025, Isle Utilities (Isle) hosted the first Innovation Workshop for the Horizon Europe BATRAW project. This strategically significant, 48-month initiative is set to transform the recycling of end-of-life electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion batteries, directly strengthening Europe’s supply chains for critical materials.
Co-funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe programme and backed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for Isle involvement, BATRAW - Recycling of End-of-Life Battery Packs for Domestic Raw Material Supply Chains and Enhanced Circular Economy - is designed to align with the European Circular Economy Action Plan.
Bridging the gap: why industry feedback is critical
Isle’s Innovation Workshops are the bridge between cutting-edge technology and commercial reality.
Early engagement is crucial: many innovations fail not due to bad science, but because they can not meet commercial demands without timely industry feedback. Over three planned Innovation Workshops, will co-create knowledge, validate the relevance of BATRAW’s innovations, and design robust post-project roadmaps for each technology.
Innovation Workshop 1: focused on pre-treatment and hydrometallurgical recycling of batteries
The first Innovation Workshop was held online on the 1st October and focused on Pilot 2 of BATRAW, which addresses the crucial steps of pre-treatment and hydrometallurgical recycling of batteries.
Facilitated by Dr. Blanca Antizar, Isle’s Director of Consultancy, the event featured five key external stakeholders, including battery manufacturers and European battery associations.
Key takeaways from the expert presentations:
- Securing Batteries: Antoine Driancourt (CEA) highlighted the constraints of current battery security approaches, setting the context for necessary innovation.
- Pilot Innovation: Achraf Blout (Orano) gave an in-depth look at Orano’s sophisticated battery deactivation processes, directly addressing the safety challenges in handling end-of-life batteries.
- Resource Resilience: Ángel Escamilla (Leitat Technological Center & BATRAW Coordinator) stressed the strategic importance of timely recycling to secure Europe’s supply of critical raw materials (CRMs) through Selective Electrochemical Lithium Recovery.
- Regulatory Compliance: Volker Krümpel (Minespider) introduced the Digital Battery Passport Platform, a vital innovation to minimize uncertainty and support compliance with the upcoming EU Battery Regulation.
Stakeholders were eager to engage, providing constructive feedback on technical and commercial viability, and offering to serve as future industry contacts for the project partners.
The Water Nexus: protecting natural resources
While BATRAW focuses on batteries, its implications for water sustainability are profound. Electrochemical energy storage relies on critical raw materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese.
As highlighted in our previous press release, battery recycling dramatically reduces the need for conventional mining and linear extraction processes that often pollute natural resources, including water bodies.
Crucial BATRAW’s innovations further support water sustainability by:
- Containing hazards: safely deactivating chemicals during the recycling process to ensure hazardous substances, like PFAS, are securely contained and prevented from contaminating soil or water.
- Mitigating fire risk: substantially reducing fire hazards, which prevents the release of large quantities of toxic particles into the environment and water resources.
Through projects like BATRAW, we prove that technological innovation and environmental stewardship - including water protection - can and must advance together.
What is next for BATRAW?
This was the first of three planned Innovation Workshops.
- Workshop 2: Scheduled for late November 2025 in the Basque Country, Spain, focusing on Pilot 1 (Disassembly of Batteries).
- Workshop 3 (Final): Set for April 2026 in Madrid, this event will showcase key results and outcomes from the entire project.
About BATRAW
Funded by Horizon Europe with a budget of €13 million (HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01, Grant No. 101058359), BATRAW advances EV battery recycling through innovative technologies and circular economy principles. Coordinated by Leitat (Spain), the consortium includes research institutes, universities, and industry partners across Europe. Key solutions target semi-automated disassembly, second-life applications, and high-value material recovery to meet Europe’s sustainability goals.
The consortium for this project consists of the following organisations:
Beeplanet, CEA, CEPS, Cesvimap, Comanai, Ford Otosan, Fraunhofer IWKS, Indumental, Leitat, Minespider, MTB Manufacturing, Orano, POSCO, Recyclia, Renault Ampere, Torrecid, Isle Utilities Ltd.
Discover more about BATRAW on the project website: The BATRAW project.
