German metals recycler CRONIMET plans to double its annual processing capacity for NCM and LFP battery scrap to 28,000 tons in 2027 as it expands its battery recycling business and develops sales channels across Asia, with South Korea positioned as a key market.
MIRU interviewed Dr. Filipe Costa, who oversees the company’s battery business, at the 4th MRAI International Business Summit (IBS 2026), held at The Westin Tokyo. During the interview, Costa outlined CRONIMET’s battery recycling plans and its strategy for the Asian market.
Organized by the Material Recycling Association of India, the summit opened on August 31. The conference and exhibition ran through September 1, attracting approximately 1,000 participants from more than 50 countries and featuring 30 exhibitors.
Global Special-Metals Recycling Network Spans 70 Subsidiaries
Headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, CRONIMET recycles a broad range of metals and materials, including stainless steel scrap, ferroalloys, high-speed tool steels and other specialty steels, as well as nickel, chromium, tungsten, titanium and nickel-based alloys.
Founded in 1980, the group now operates 70 subsidiaries across six continents and employs more than 1,700 people. CRONIMET collects, sorts and processes scrap before returning it to the market as a secondary raw material, helping improve resource security and material-use efficiency.
The company is also active in tungsten recycling, primarily in Europe and in partnership with a US company. During the summit, MIRU and CRONIMET representatives exchanged views on current tungsten market conditions.
“Tungsten scrap prices are at historically high levels, and market participants are increasingly describing the surge as exceptional,” a CRONIMET representative said.
MIRU and CRONIMET agreed to continue exchanging information on tungsten price and market trends.
NCM and LFP Processing Capacity to Reach 28,000 Tonnes in 2027
Although battery recycling is a relatively new business for CRONIMET, the company’s longstanding expertise and infrastructure for recycling specialty and high-performance alloys containing nickel, chromium and cobalt provide a strong foundation for its entry into the sector.
According to CRONIMET, the underlying business model is an extension of its established recycling operations: identifying the metals contained in incoming materials, processing them appropriately and supplying the recovered materials to customers.
Costa said the company is currently carrying out mechanical processing of end-of-life batteries and battery production scrap in eastern Germany. The process separates steel, aluminum, copper and other materials from battery waste while recovering black mass containing nickel, cobalt, manganese, lithium and other valuable elements.
CRONIMET handles both NCM and LFP battery materials, with the latter gaining wider adoption worldwide. The company is initially focusing on installing equipment, establishing stable operations and gradually increasing both throughput and output.
CRONIMET aims to establish annual processing capacity of 14,000 tonnes of NCM and LFP battery scrap in 2026 and double it to 28,000 tonnes in 2027. Its annual black mass production capacity is also expected to double, from 7,000 tonnes in 2026 to 14,000 tonnes in 2027.
Over the longer term, the company is considering adding hydrometallurgical processing to recover individual metals from black mass at higher purity levels. Rather than making a large-scale investment all at once, however, CRONIMET intends to expand the business “step by step.”
Costa noted that the economics of battery recycling are highly sensitive to market conditions. CRONIMET will determine the pace of its capacity and technology expansion by monitoring factors including scrap availability, prices for black mass and constituent metals such as nickel, cobalt and lithium, demand from battery manufacturers, and regulatory developments in different countries and regions.
South Korea to Anchor Asian Expansion
CRONIMET supplies black mass to markets including South Korea, China and Indonesia and plans to broaden its customer base across Asia. The company regards South Korea, in particular, as one of its most important markets.
South Korea is home to major manufacturers of electric vehicles, batteries and cathode materials and has developed an extensive battery-material supply chain. CRONIMET also maintains an office in Seoul and plans to leverage the logistics networks and commercial relationships established through its existing metals recycling operations to supply battery-derived materials.
Costa said the company intends to process battery feedstock in Germany and deliver the recovered materials to South Korean customers through its established logistics and distribution channels.
China and India are also key markets for CRONIMET. By leveraging its global network, the company plans to expand both its procurement of feedstock and its sales of recycled materials. Supplying battery-derived materials processed in Europe to Asian customers is a natural extension of the international metals circulation network CRONIMET has built through its core recycling operations.
CRONIMET Sees Potential in Japan
The discussion also covered the potential of the Japanese market. Japan has a broad industrial base spanning the automotive, battery, materials, trading and recycling sectors, providing a strong foundation for the development of an integrated battery supply chain.
During the meeting, MIRU President Tanamachi invited Costa to speak at the Tokyo Battery Summit 2027, scheduled for March 2027, about CRONIMET’s battery recycling strategy and its expectations for the Japanese market. Costa expressed interest and said he would consider participating as a speaker.
Having established its core business in stainless steel, specialty alloys and rare-metal recycling, CRONIMET is now expanding into battery materials. The next stage of its strategy will center on increasing processing capacity in Germany, strengthening supply channels to Asia—particularly South Korea—and evaluating a future move into hydrometallurgical recovery.
（IRuniverse Midori Fushimi）
