Development and construction of turnkey recycling plants for lithium-ion batteries and waste electrical and electronic equipment.
URT Umwelt- und Recyclingtechnik GmbH
KarlstadtNew on Amplifa
About URT Recycling Technology
URT Umwelt- und Recyclingtechnik GmbH in Karlstadt develops and implements turnkey recycling plants for lithium-ion batteries as well as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The portfolio includes plants for Li-ion batteries (including LFP chemistry) with over 98% recovery of dry black mass and throughputs up to 4 t/h, waste refrigeration equipment plants with propellant and refrigerant recovery over 90% (EN 50625-2-3), as well as plants for IT and household appliances, printed circuit boards, LCD displays, CRT monitors and toner cartridges. The value chain ranges from consulting, engineering and 2D/3D design through manufacturing, assembly and commissioning to after-sales service, spare parts supply, shredding technology and scale-up consulting. Core processes are inert shredding under a nitrogen atmosphere, thermomechanical drying and vacuum distillation, activated carbon adsorption, thermal oxidation and multi-stage sorting. More than 50 delivered plants are in operation worldwide, with an export share of around 95%. URT has been researching battery recycling since 2011 (LithoRec II); in 2020 a pilot project with Volkswagen AG followed, in 2021 series production of plants; in 2024 the largest Li-ion recycling plant in Europe was commissioned in Meppen.
- Site
- Karlstadt
- Processes
- Recycling plants for lithium-ion batteries (turnkey), Inert shredding under nitrogen atmosphere, Thermomechanical drying / vacuum distillation drying, Recycling plants for waste refrigeration equipment (two-stage treatment concept), VHC selective recycling with robot-assisted propellant detection and thermal oxidation (RTO), VHC + VFC recovery with activated carbon adsorption, Recycling plants for IT, small and large household appliances (3-stage: depollution/primary, Statistical Sampling Solutions for printed circuit boards (PCBs)
- Materials
- Lithium-ion batteries (incl. LFP chemistry), Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese, Black mass, Aluminium, Copper
- Certificates
- EN 50625-2-3 (project compliance), WEEELABEX (project compliance), TA-Luft (project compliance)
- Founded
- 1995
- Industries
- Lithium-ion battery recycling, Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), Waste refrigeration equipment recycling, IT and household appliance recycling, Printed circuit board recycling, LCD display recycling
- 01
Engineering and Consulting
- 02
Design (2D/3D CAD)
- 03
Manufacturing and Assembly
- 04
Commissioning and Training
- 05
After Sales & Support
- 06
Shredding Tech. & Cutting Units Support
- 07
Upscaling & Consulting
Materials and Processes
Lithium-ion batteries (incl. LFP)
Input stream for battery recycling plants with inert shredding and vacuum distillation.
Black mass
Target product with a recovery rate above 98%, including lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese.
Lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese
Valuable materials from the black mass for further processing.
Aluminium
Separated output fraction from battery and electronics recycling.
Copper
Separated output fraction from battery and electronics recycling.
Steel (ferrous metals)
Iron fraction from shredding and sorting processes.
Printed circuit boards
Valuable partial stream from IT equipment, also processed as Statistical Sampling Solutions.
VHC propellants (pentane, isobutane)
Selectively recovered from refrigerators with halogen-free propellants.
VFC propellants (halogenated)
Recovered from older refrigeration equipment via activated carbon adsorption.
Mercury
Recovered from LCD recycling via a distillation plant.
Lead-containing cone glass (CRT)
Separated using hot-wire cutting technology in CRT monitor processing.
Plastics
Sorted fraction from IT and household appliance streams.
Locations
Karlstadt
DEHeadquarters, engineering and project execution
- Four-shaft shredder (URT)
- Four-shaft rotor shear (URT)
- Robot-assisted detection systems with online infrared spectrometer
- Activated carbon adsorption
- RTO plant
- Distillation plant for mercury recovery
- Hot-wire cutting plant for CRT
Plants and Systems
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recycling plants for lithium-ion batteries (turnkey)Engineering | – | – | – | – | Lithium-ion batteries (incl. LFP), Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese, Black mass, Aluminium, Copper, Steel |
| Inert shredding under nitrogen atmosphereRecycling/Processing | – | – | – | – | Lithium-ion batteries |
| Thermomechanical drying / vacuum distillation dryingRecycling/Processing | – | – | – | – | Lithium-ion batteries, Electrolyte components |
| Recycling plants for waste refrigeration equipment (two-stage treatment concept)Recycling/Processing | – | – | – | bis 4 t/h | Household refrigeration equipment, VHC refrigerants (pentane, isobutane), VFC refrigerants, Oil |
| VHC selective recycling with robot-assisted propellant detection and thermal oxidation (RTO)Recycling/Processing | – | – | – | – | Refrigerators with halogen-free propellants (VHC, pentane) |
| VHC + VFC recovery with activated carbon adsorptionRecycling/Processing | – | – | – | – | Refrigerators, VHC and VFC propellants |
| Recycling plants for IT, small and large household appliances (3-stage: depollution/primaryRecycling/Processing | – | – | – | – | IT equipment, Small and large appliances, Plastics, Ferrous and non-ferrous metals, Printed circuit boards, Electric motors, Transformers |
| Statistical Sampling Solutions for printed circuit boards (PCBs)Testing | – | – | – | – | Printed circuit boards |
| Recycling plants for LCD displays (disassembly workstations, mercury removal)Recycling/Processing | – | – | – | – | LCD flat screens, Mercury, Fluorescent tubes |
| Capillary shredding and mercury recovery (distillation plant)Recycling/Processing | – | – | – | – | Mercury, Capillaries/fluorescent tubes |
| CRT monitor separation plants (hot-wire technology)Recycling/Processing | – | – | – | – | CRT tubes, Front glass, Cone glass (lead-containing), Phosphor coating, Metal parts |
| Recycling plants for toner cartridges (closed explosion-protected process)Recycling/Processing | – | – | – | – | Toner cartridges, Toner powder, Mineral inerting agent |
| Shredding Tech. & Cutting Units Support (shredding technology, cutting units, rental model)Recycling/Processing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Engineering, design, commissioning, after sales, consulting & upscaling for recycling plantsEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
13 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four-shaft shredder (pre- and post-shredding) | URT | – | – | – | – |
| Four-shaft rotor shear | URT | – | – | – | – |
| RTO plant (thermal oxidation, also electrically operated) | URT | – | – | – | – |
| Activated carbon adsorption for propellant recovery | URT | – | – | – | – |
| Robot-assisted detection system with online infrared spectrometer (propellant analysis) | URT | – | – | – | – |
| Drill heads / piercing pliers for refrigerant extraction | URT | – | – | – | – |
| Disassembly safety workstations for LCDs with filter system and mercury separation | URT | – | – | – | – |
| Capillary shredder | URT | – | – | – | – |
| Distillation plant for mercury recovery | URT | – | – | – | – |
| Hot-wire cutting plant for CRT tubes | URT | – | – | – | – |
| Toner cartridge recycling plant with feed chute, airlock system, shredding unit and | URT | – | – | – | – |
| Lithium-ion battery recycling plant (inert shredding, vacuum distillation, separation) | URT | 8 im Betri | – | – | weltweit |
| Waste refrigeration equipment recycling plant | URT | 40+ gelief | – | – | weltweit |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality and Compliance
URT relies on robust, field-proven plant processes with continuous further development based on real operating data. Projects are implemented in accordance with industry-standard requirements such as EN 50625-2-3, WEEELABEX and TA-Luft (German Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control).
| Evidence | Karlstadt |
|---|---|
| EN 50625-2-3 (project compliance) | |
| WEEELABEX (project compliance) | |
| TA-Luft (project compliance) |
History
- 1995
Founding of URT Umwelt- und Recyclingtechnik GmbH.
- 2011
Start of research and development of recycling plants for lithium-ion batteries in the LithoRec II project.
- 2020
Process optimisation under industrial conditions in the pilot project for Volkswagen AG.
- 2021
Start of delivery of turnkey lithium-ion battery recycling plants in series scale.
- 2024
Commissioning of the plant for RE.LION.BAT. Circular GmbH in Meppen – the largest Li-ion battery recycling plant in Europe.
- 2025
New industrial Li-ion recycling plant in Israel; generational change: Florian Heßler becomes managing partner.