The Valencian company Batteryfly has decided to take a step forward in the recycling of electric vehicle batteries and the management of its second life with a major industrial project in Aragon. The company plans to invest 6 million euros for a new plant in Zaragoza, designed to close the electromobility loop and strengthen the clean energy value chain in Spain.
The future facility will be located in the Zaragoza Recycling Technology Park (PTR) and will occupy an area of 12.000 square meters. The project, which is included in the RENOCICLA program The project, from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), has an execution horizon of March 2029 and aims to make the Aragonese capital one of the key points for battery recycling in the country.
A 6 million euro investment for a battery hub in Zaragoza
Batteryfly, specializing in the comprehensive life cycle management of electromobility batteries[Company Name] has designed a plant conceived to cover the entire lifecycle of this equipment: from initial reception and evaluation to advanced recycling or refurbishment for new uses. The total planned investment amounts to 6 million euros, plus an additional [amount missing]. relevant public subsidy.
The project has received a non-refundable grant of 1,8 million euros from MITECOThese funds, channeled through the RENOCICLA program and managed by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), are financed with NextGenEU European funds Within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), they are awarded on a competitive basis, rewarding technological innovation, economic viability and positive environmental impact.
According to information provided by the company, the plant will be built on a 12.000 m² plot in the Zaragoza Technology Park (PTR), a location that reinforces Aragon's position as industrial hub linked to the circular economy electric mobility. The company anticipates that, once operational, the center will generate around 120 jobs within approximately four years, including technical, engineering, laboratory, and operations staff.
The project timeline marks a implementation period extending until March 2029During this time, the various phases of design, construction, pilot line commissioning, and industrial scaling will be developed. The facility is conceived as a long-term strategic infrastructure, capable of supporting the significant increase in the electric vehicle fleet expected in Europe.
Recycling capacity and growth projection
The new plant will start with a annual treatment capacity exceeding 1.000 tons of waste, primarily batteries from electric vehicles and other equipment related to renewable energy. However, the project is designed with a clear focus on growth: in the medium term, the facilities could process up to 75.000 tons per year.
This potential for expansion responds to the forecast that the volume of unused batteries will increase significantly as the electromobility and energy storage continue to spread in Spain and the rest of Europe. Having sufficient industrial capacity Managing this waste safely and efficiently is considered key to avoiding bottlenecks and external dependencies.
Batteryfly's project has been rated as one of the five highest-rated nationally in its battery recycling category within the RENOCICLA program. Among the aspects that have weighed in its evaluation are the degree of innovation of the treatment processes, the comprehensive approach to the second life of batteries and the real contribution to the circular economy.
Thanks to this new facility, the company seeks to address the challenge of converting a growing waste stream into an industrial opportunityThe idea is that batteries that are no longer suitable for their original use should not be considered merely waste, but a source of valuable materials and, in many cases, of reusable modules in other applications.
In this context, Zaragoza aspires to consolidate itself as a reference center in battery recycling within the Spanish industrial map, complementing other automotive and renewable energy hubs both in Aragon and in neighboring communities.
Comprehensive installation: from second life to advanced recycling
One of the project's strengths is its comprehensive approach. The industrial building will have different specialized areas covering all phases of the battery lifecycle. Firstly, areas will be set up for safe storage, characterization and testingwhere the condition of each unit received will be assessed to determine if its reconditioning is viable or if it should go directly to recycling.
From there, the complex will have specific lines for the disassembly, handling and repair of electric vehicle batteries and other storage systems. These operations will allow the recovery of modules and cells that still have considerable useful life, allocating them to less demanding applications, such as stationary backup systems or storage for renewable energy installations.
The plant will also include spaces dedicated to the manufacturing megabatteries and assembling new productsby utilizing components that remain functional. In this way, the second life of the batteries is integrated into the center's own industrial scheme, without the need to outsource key processes.
In addition, areas will be made available for the certification of energy storage systems and for the development of new components, ensuring that refurbished equipment meets the safety and quality standards required by the market and by European regulation.
The complex will be completed with laboratories and an R&D center focused on improving the repair, recycling, and characterization processes for lithium-ion batteries and other emerging technologies. Alongside these technical spaces, the facility will include offices and an engineering area that will centralize project management and the development of advanced energy storage solutions.
Black mass and critical metal recovery
Beyond the refurbishment, the Batteryfly plant will incorporate a pilot plant for obtaining “black mass”One of the most strategically important elements is black mass, a high-value dark powder obtained from the crushing and processing of lithium-ion batteries, which contains a significant portion of the most prized metals from these systems.
This section contains lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganeseThese are among other essential materials for manufacturing new fuel cells. All of them are considered by the European Commission as critical or strategic raw materials, both due to their difficult supply and the geographical concentration of their reserves.
The ability to produce black mass domestically represents an important step for reduce dependence on imported raw materialsespecially from Asian markets, and to strengthen Europe's industrial autonomy in a sector as sensitive as batteries.
Once obtained, this black mass can be sent to specialized refineries and hydrometallurgical plants, where the different metals are separated and purified for reintroduction into the supply chain. In this way, materials from spent batteries are transformed back into inputs for manufacturing new storage systems, closing the circle of the circular economy.
The integration of this pilot plant into the Zaragoza project positions Batteryfly in a dynamic of constant innovation, since the treatment of batteries and the recovery of critical metals is a field in rapid technological and regulatory evolution within the European Union.
Circular economy, public support and fit within European policies
The Batteryfly project fits perfectly into European and national strategies for circular economy and energy transitionThe RENOCICLA program, within which the new plant is framed, seeks precisely to accelerate the renewal of obsolete equipment and increase the use of secondary raw materials in manufacturing processes, thus reducing the pressure on natural resources.
The aid granted has been evaluated under the principle of not cause significant harm to the environmentThis entails meeting strict criteria for waste management, emissions, and energy efficiency. This requirement helps ensure that new facilities financed with EU funds align with the EU's climate and sustainability goals.
Furthermore, the project is directly related to the PERTE of Circular Economy and with the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan itself, which identifies battery recycling and the management of critical materials as key elements to strengthen the continent's industrial competitiveness.
By promoting the reuse of components and raw materials and recovering valuable metals, the Zaragoza plant aims to be an important link in the value chain related to the electrification of transport and the deployment of renewable energiesThe combination of private investment and public support seeks to trigger new business and technological initiatives in its environment.
At the regional level, the infrastructure helps to consolidate Aragon's image as a territory committed to the Innovation in sustainability and industrial recycling, complementing other projects related to electric vehicles, the automotive industry and energy storage that are already operating or being deployed in the autonomous community.
Batteryfly: previous experience and a commitment to a second life
Batteryfly was created in response to the growing adoption of electric vehicles in Europe and the regulatory framework that drives them. reuse and proper management of discarded batteriesThe company specializes in extending the useful life of this equipment as much as possible, either through refurbishment or through responsible recycling when it has reached the end of its cycle.
The company's team accumulates More than 25 years of experience in the automotive and renewable energy sectorsBatteryfly boasts a team of engineers, technicians, and operators with extensive experience in energy, electronics, and programming. This technical foundation has enabled Batteryfly to develop its own battery design and manufacturing solutions tailored to diverse applications.
Currently, the company operates from its headquarters in Moncada (Valencia), where it has 1.800 square meters of industrial plantThe facility boasts development and testing laboratories and a remarkable capacity for reconditioning lithium batteries, primarily from the electric vehicle sector. From these facilities, projects have been launched that have contributed to reducing emissions and making better use of existing resources.
According to their own data, Batteryfly's activity has enabled reduce by around 20 tons of CO₂ Over the past five years, thanks to longer battery lifespans and the use of more efficient storage solutions, the new plant in Zaragoza represents a significant leap forward in scale.
With this move, the company reinforces its role in the European electromobility ecosystem, not so much from vehicle manufacturing, but from the responsible end-of-life management of its key components, an area that will increasingly have more weight in the regulation and in the social perception of the sustainability of electric transport.
Impact on industrial independence and sustainable mobility
Batteryfly's management emphasizes that the new plant will contribute to reduce the need to extract additional resources for the manufacture of next-generation batteries. Reusing used batteries and recovering critical metals allows us to avoid some primary mining and, at the same time, minimize the amount of waste that ends up in landfills or that must be exported for treatment.
Javier Alcalá, the company's CEO, has emphasized the importance of promote the reuse of components and raw materialsespecially in the areas of electric mobility and energy storage. This vision aligns with the European regulatory trend, which is increasingly setting more ambitious targets for recycled content and traceability in batteries sold in the EU market.
Another point the company highlights is the possibility of moving towards a less dependence on Asian countries Regarding battery manufacturing and the supply of necessary materials, while the new plant is not intended to meet European demand on its own, it does complement other projects seeking to diversify the sources of these resources.
For the energy system as a whole, having infrastructure like that of Zaragoza facilitates the transition to electromobility. more coherent from an environmental point of viewby ensuring that the batteries are managed properly once their first useful life is over.
In short, Batteryfly's investment fits into a broader trend in Spain and Europe: the deployment of facilities that allow closing the circle of clean technologies, returning scarce materials to the system and giving a useful purpose to equipment that would otherwise become an environmental and logistical problem.
With the opening of this plant in the Zaragoza Recycling Technology Park, Batteryfly combines private investment, institutional support, and technical expertise to position itself on the European battery recycling map. The initiative aims to strengthen the circular economy, generate skilled employment, and provide added industrial autonomy in a sector that is key to the future of electric mobility and renewable energy in Spain.
