General Motors has completed a major closed-loop EV battery recycling pilot that demonstrates how materials recovered from end-of-life electric vehicle batteries can be used to build new EV batteries.
The pilot, carried out with battery recycling company Cirba Solutions and other partners, produced new battery cells containing cathode active material made with 100% recycled nickel, cobalt and manganese. The recycled materials came from end-of-life GM EV battery packs, marking an important step toward a more circular domestic battery supply chain.
The first GM electric vehicles equipped with these battery cells have now rolled off production lines, showing that recycled critical minerals can successfully make their way back into new EVs.
How GM’s closed-loop battery recycling works
The process began with 80 end-of-life GM EV batteries collected for the pilot. Cirba Solutions processed the batteries at its lithium-ion recycling facility in Ohio, where the packs were disassembled and processed into a material known as black mass.
Black mass contains concentrated battery materials and is an important intermediate product in the recycling process. However, recovering black mass is only the beginning. The valuable minerals must be further refined before they can be used to manufacture new battery components.
The recovered materials were refined into more than 12 metric tons of new cathode active material (CAM) containing 100% recycled nickel, cobalt and manganese.
Because battery manufacturers must maintain strict requirements for safety, performance and quality, the recycled materials were subjected to validation before being introduced into new battery cells.
Testing showed that cells produced using the recycled materials could meet the required standards. Ultium Cells, the battery joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution, then used the recycled CAM to manufacture new EV battery cells.
GM manufacturing teams subsequently assembled the cells into battery modules and packs at Factory ZERO and Spring Hill.
Recycled battery materials are already powering new GM EVs
The first production vehicles equipped with GM battery cells containing the recycled cathode material include the Cadillac LYRIQ, LYRIQ-V, VISTIQ, ESCALADE IQ and ESCALADE IQL, along with the Chevrolet Silverado EV Trail Boss and GMC Sierra EV AT4.
The vehicles are being produced at GM’s Spring Hill Assembly and Factory ZERO facilities and are now heading to customers.
The achievement demonstrates one of the central goals of battery recycling: keeping valuable materials in circulation rather than treating an EV battery as a single-use product.
Battery materials such as nickel, cobalt and manganese can be recovered at high rates using current recycling technologies, although recovery rates vary depending on the process and battery chemistry. Lithium can also be recovered, with current processes capable of recovering substantial quantities.
As recycling technologies continue to improve, the amount of material recovered from retired EV batteries could increase further.
Why closed-loop EV battery recycling matters
Battery materials represent a significant portion of the cost and supply chain requirements associated with EV batteries. Recovering and reusing those materials could eventually help reduce dependence on newly extracted resources while improving supply chain resilience.
The approach could become increasingly important as more electric vehicles reach the end of their first battery life.
Global demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to grow substantially over the coming decade, while millions of EV batteries are projected to reach the end of their useful vehicle life by 2040. Building recycling capacity now could help manufacturers prepare for that growing volume.
Domestic battery recycling can also reduce the distance materials travel through the supply chain and create new opportunities to recover critical minerals within the same broader manufacturing ecosystem.
The GM pilot involved a network of companies working across battery collection, recycling, materials refining and cell manufacturing. In addition to Cirba Solutions and Ultium Cells, LG Energy Solution and other partners contributed to the program.
Recycling is only one stage of an EV battery’s life
An EV battery reaching the end of its automotive life does not necessarily mean the battery itself is ready for recycling.
GM is also pursuing battery remanufacturing and refurbishment programs designed to reuse more than 70% of pack components in certain applications. This can extend the useful life of battery hardware while potentially avoiding the need to manufacture an entirely new pack.
Some batteries can also move into second-life energy storage applications after they are no longer suitable for vehicle use.
GM and Redwood Materials are deploying approximately 10,000 second-life GM batteries into energy infrastructure. The projects include what GM describes as the largest second-life battery microgrid in North America, with additional deployments planned.
This creates a broader battery lifecycle in which a battery can potentially serve several purposes: powering an EV, supporting stationary energy storage and eventually returning its valuable materials to the battery manufacturing process.
Building a more circular EV battery supply chain
GM’s closed-loop recycling pilot is still an early step, but it provides a real-world demonstration that materials from retired EV batteries can be recovered, refined and returned to new EV battery cells.
The long-term objective is to keep critical battery materials circulating through the supply chain for as long as possible. That could reduce the need for newly mined materials, support domestic manufacturing and improve the resilience of EV battery supply chains.
As the global EV fleet continues to expand, the number of batteries reaching the end of their first automotive life will increase. Recycling, refurbishment and second-life applications could therefore become increasingly important parts of the electric vehicle industry.
GM’s latest pilot shows what a closed-loop battery system can look like in practice: an EV battery can deliver value in a vehicle, potentially serve another purpose after leaving the vehicle, and ultimately have its critical materials recovered and used to power another generation of electric cars.
