Volkswagen Group

Automotive platforms, battery cells and closed-loop material systems

Volkswagen Group's 2025 reporting describes batteries as a core technology from raw materials through recycling. It reports that more than 70 tonnes of plastic waste from gasoline tank manufacturing at Wolfsburg were treated and reused for diesel tanks in 2025, and that PowerCo's first cell factory in Salzgitter began delivering cells for validation. Public reporting does not establish one vehicle-level bill of materials, supplier allocation, cell qualification and end-of-life recovery record.

70+ tonnes Plastic waste reused at Wolfsburg in 2025

2025 Salzgitter cell factory came on stream

3 locations Salzgitter, Valencia and St. Thomas cell-factory program

Closed loop Recycling designed close to production

• Steel, aluminum, polymers, battery materials, electronics, glass, rubber and coatings
• Cell materials, manufacturing scrap, supplier data and vehicle bill-of-materials records
• Returned vehicles, batteries and production scrap entering qualified recovery routes

Outputs and residuals to resolve

• Passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, battery cells and service parts
• Manufacturing scrap, end-of-life vehicles, batteries and component streams
• Cell-to-vehicle allocation, quality evidence and recovered-material yield remain open

First decision: Choose one battery or vehicle material stream. Map raw material origin, cell or vehicle use, qualification gate, plant route, return path and recovered output.

Volkswagen reports battery integration from raw materials through recycling as a core technology task.

Factory signal

PowerCo's first cell factory in Salzgitter delivered initial cells for validation in 2025.

Reuse signal

More than 70 tonnes of plastic waste from gasoline tank manufacturing at Wolfsburg were treated and reused for diesel tanks in 2025.

Evidence boundary

Group reporting does not replace one vehicle or battery material passport with verified recovery yield.

Decision boundary

Volkswagen Group is building the physical loop from vehicle materials to battery cells. Its 2025 reporting describes battery integration from raw materials through recycling, close-to-production recycling at cell factories and more than 70 tonnes of plastic waste reused at Wolfsburg. The open decision is one vehicle or battery stream where material identity, qualification, plant route and recovered output can be read end to end. The public record supports one bounded next move: Choose one battery or vehicle material stream. Map raw material origin, cell or vehicle use, qualification gate, plant route, return path and recovered output. It does not establish a buyer, commercial approval or supply agreement.

This is a public screening map. It separates company-disclosed flows from open qualification work. It does not convert a destination into a buyer or an announced ambition into operating capacity.

Build a battery material passport

The highest-value loop is the one that follows material identity through cell, pack, vehicle and recovery.

Next evidence: Select chemistry, supplier, cell, pack, vehicle, return route and recovered output.

Scale the Wolfsburg reuse pattern

A verified plant stream can become a repeatable qualification template across factories and components.

Next evidence: Capture source stream, treatment, quality test, reuse point and avoided virgin input.

Connect recycled input to vehicle performance

The commercial proof is not recycled content alone. It is recycled content that survives the same qualification gate.

Next evidence: Join material grade, test method, part, vehicle program and customer approval.

• Reporting Volkswagen Group, official reporting hub https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/reporting-15808
• Annual Report 2025 Volkswagen Group, official annual report PDF https://annualreport2025.volkswagen-group.com/_assets/downloads/entire-vw-ar25.pdf?h=bz8bYG_n
• Annual Report 2025 download Volkswagen Group, official publication download https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/publications/more/annual-report-2025-3212/download?disposition=attachment
• Resource use and circular economy Volkswagen Group Annual Report 2024 https://geschaeftsbericht2024.volkswagen-group.com/nachhaltigkeitsbericht/umweltinformationen/ressourcennutzung-und-kreislaufwirtschaft.html

Source hierarchy: filings and company disclosures first. The brief states what those sources support and leaves the unresolved plant, grade, permit, buyer and mass-balance questions explicit.

Volkswagen Group is building the physical loop from vehicle materials to battery cells. Its 2025 reporting describes battery integration from raw materials through recycling, close-to-production recycling at cell factories and more than 70 tonnes of plastic waste reused at Wolfsburg. The open decision is one vehicle or battery stream where material identity, qualification, plant route and recovered output can be read end to end. The next useful working session starts with: Choose one battery or vehicle material stream. Map raw material origin, cell or vehicle use, qualification gate, plant route, return path and recovered output.