# Volkswagen Group

> Volkswagen Group is building a physical loop from vehicle materials to battery cells. Its Wolfsburg plant reprocesses plastic waste from fuel-tank coextrusion into diesel-tank monoextrusion, while Salzgitter hosts the group's high-voltage battery recycling pilot. The useful decision is one stream where material identity, qualification, plant route and recovered output can be read end to end.

- Industry: Automotive & Mobility
- Collection: Active
- Materials: Aluminum, Batteries, Glass, Plastics
- Processes: Recycling, Sorting
- Evidence through: 2026-09-18
- Canonical URL: https://www.materialtransition.com/library/volkswagen-group

## Material inputs to resolve

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.

## Battery system

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.

## Material flow map

| Material or stream | Qualification gate | Process or destination | Evidence still needed |
|-|-|-|-|
| Battery materials | Origin, chemistry, quality and responsible sourcing | Cell manufacturing and pack assembly | Supplier, lot, chemistry and qualification |
| Vehicle polymers and metals | Grade, contamination, recycled content and performance | Vehicle manufacturing or component loop | BOM, process route and recovered quality |
| Returned batteries and vehicles | State of health, safety, disassembly and sorting | Reuse, remanufacture or recycling | Units, route, yield and destination |

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.

## Three defensible entry lanes

#### 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.

## Evidence register

- **Reporting** Volkswagen Group, official reporting hub https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/reporting-15808 [1]
- **Annual Report 2025** Volkswagen Group, official annual report PDF https://annualreport2025.volkswagen-group.com/\_assets/downloads/entire-vw-ar25.pdf?h=bz8bYG\_n [2]
- **Annual Report 2025 download** Volkswagen Group, official publication download https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/publications/more/annual-report-2025-3212/download?disposition=attachment [3]
- **Resource use and circular economy** Volkswagen Group Annual Report 2024 https://geschaeftsbericht2024.volkswagen-group.com/nachhaltigkeitsbericht/umweltinformationen/ressourcennutzung-und-kreislaufwirtschaft.html [4]

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.

## Material Transition editorial interpretation

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.

## Sources

- [1] Reporting - https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/reporting-15808
- [2] Annual Report 2025 - https://annualreport2025.volkswagen-group.com/_assets/downloads/entire-vw-ar25.pdf?h=bz8bYG_n
- [3] Annual Report 2025 download - https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/publications/more/annual-report-2025-3212/download?disposition=attachment
- [4] Resource use and circular economy - https://geschaeftsbericht2024.volkswagen-group.com/nachhaltigkeitsbericht/umweltinformationen/ressourcennutzung-und-kreislaufwirtschaft.html

From the Material Transition company brief library: https://www.materialtransition.com/library/volkswagen-group