Innovation consultancy specialising in the development and commercialisation of emerging technologies in the water & environmental sectors.
On the 1st of October 2025, Isle Utilities (Isle) hosted the first Innovation Workshop for the Horizon Europe BATRAW project. This strategically significant, 48-month initiative is set to transform the recycling of end-of-life electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion batteries, directly strengthening Europe's supply chains for critical materials.
Co-funded by the EU's Horizon Europe programme and backed by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for Isle involvement, BATRAW - Recycling of End-of-Life Battery Packs for Domestic Raw Material Supply Chains and Enhanced Circular Economy - is designed to align with the European Circular Economy Action Plan.
Isle's Innovation Workshops are the bridge between cutting-edge technology and commercial reality.
Early engagement is crucial: many innovations fail not due to bad science, but because they can not meet commercial demands without timely industry feedback. Over three planned Innovation Workshops, will co-create knowledge, validate the relevance of BATRAW's innovations, and design robust post-project roadmaps for each technology.
The first Innovation Workshop was held online on the 1st October and focused on Pilot 2 of BATRAW, which addresses the crucial steps of pre-treatment and hydrometallurgical recycling of batteries.
Facilitated by Dr. Blanca Antizar, Isle's Director of Consultancy, the event featured five key external stakeholders, including battery manufacturers and European battery associations.
Key Takeaways from the Expert Presentations:
Stakeholders were eager to engage, providing constructive feedback on technical and commercial viability, and offering to serve as future industry contacts for the project partners.
While BATRAW focuses on batteries, its implications for water sustainability are profound. Electrochemical energy storage relies on critical raw materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese.
As highlighted in our previous press release, battery recycling dramatically reduces the need for conventional mining and linear extraction processes that often pollute natural resources, including water bodies.
Crucial BATRAW's innovations further support water sustainability by:
Through projects like BATRAW, we prove that technological innovation and environmental stewardship - including water protection - can and must advance together.
This was the first of three planned Innovation Workshops.
Funded by Horizon Europe with a budget of €13 million (HORIZON-CL4-2021-RESILIENCE-01, Grant No. 101058359), BATRAW advances EV battery recycling through innovative technologies and circular economy principles. Coordinated by Leitat (Spain), the consortium includes research institutes, universities, and industry partners across Europe. Key solutions target semi-automated disassembly, second-life applications, and high-value material recovery to meet Europe's sustainability goals.
The consortium for this project consists of the following organisations: