CircuBAT: Project team presents solutions for a circular battery economy

Four years ago, stakeholders from science and industry joined forces in the Swiss CircuBAT project to create a circular economy model for electric vehicle batteries. They now presented their results, which range from automated disassembly to a volume estimation model for the second-life battery market.

Circubat projekt batterie batterieforschung schweiz — Image: SIPBB

CircuBAT launched in 2022 with the idea of closing the loop between production, application and recycling of lithium-ion batteries from mobility. To this end, seven Swiss research institutions and 24 companies jointly developed solutions to make all stages of a battery’s life cycle more sustainable. The project formed part of a new flagship initiative by the funding agency Innosuisse. Now, after four years, CircuBAT has come to an end. The participants are presenting their results this week (13 and 14 November 2025) at the CircuBAT2025 event in Bern.

The participants include the Bern University of Applied Sciences (as consortium leader), Empa, the Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM), the University of St. Gallen, the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST), the Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne (SIPBB), EPFL, and 24 commercial and industrial companies – ranging from materials specialists and manufacturing firms to users and providers of electric vehicles.

“We have developed innovative solutions that are attracting worldwide attention. These solutions represent a first step on the way to closing the battery loop with stations distributed around the globe,” says project manager Andrea Vezzini of Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH). Several of the solutions developed within the project are “about to be launched on the market or are being pursued in follow-up projects and start-ups.”

One example is the development of an automated EV battery disassembly system advanced by the Swiss Battery Technology Center (SBTC) of SIPBB within the project. Using an AI-based approach, the system can dismantle a wide variety of electric car batteries. The AI supports both the identification of different battery architectures and the control of robotics. “In collaboration with the Bern University of Applied Sciences, the SBTC also investigated how future battery systems can be better designed for circular value creation— from design to recycling processes.” In other words, future reuse and recovery should already be considered during the component development stage.

Another focus of CircuBAT was on extending the service life of batteries in vehicles. To achieve this, the participants created, among other things, an interactive “Battery Expert System” that compares the ageing behaviour of batteries. The project team also developed optimisation strategies for operating several differently degraded battery packs under one control system, as well as new processes for direct material recovery.

Alongside these technical priorities, the project also produced a Swiss circular economy model for lithium-ion batteries, which allows future volumes (for example for the Swiss second-life battery market) to be estimated. “CircuBAT will therefore play a key role in decarbonising mobility in Switzerland and promoting the use of renewable energy,” the project participants agree.

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This article was first published by Cora Werwitzke for electrive’s German edition.