Powering Europe’s Future Through Urban Mining
POLVOLT is a next-generation strategic metals recovery hub being developed by Elemental Battery Metals and Elemental Group. By transforming battery waste and electronic scrap into critical raw materials, the project strengthens Europe’s industrial resilience, accelerates the energy transition, and advances a circular economy.
POLVOLT in Numbers
Delivering measurable impact across Europe
250+
High-quality jobs created
4.5M t
CO₂ emissions avoided over 10 years
86%
Lower greenhouse gas emissions
€800M+
Planned investment
Strategic Project
Recognised under the Critical Raw Materials Act
Zawiercie, PL
Located in the heart of Europe
What is POLVOLT?
A Strategic Project for Europe’s Green Transition
POLVOLT is one of Europe’s most ambitious urban mining projects, designed to recover critical and strategic raw materials from end-of-life batteries and electronic waste.
Located in Zawiercie, Poland, the facility will integrate advanced pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical technologies to produce battery metals, precious metals and base metals required by modern industry.
The project directly supports the objectives of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) and the Net-Zero Industry Act, strengthening Europe’s supply security and reducing dependence on imported resources.
Project Pillars
Three Integrated Systems.
One Circular Future.
Copper Smelter & Refinery
Production of copper, precious metals and strategic raw materials recovered from electronic waste and secondary feedstocks.
Black Mass Processing
Recovery of lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries.
Renewable Energy Supply System
Dedicated renewable energy infrastructure supporting low-carbon industrial operations and reducing environmental impact.
Project Timeline
From vision to operation
Project initiation
Initiation of project activities, planning and development work.
Kick-offEngineering and permitting
Detailed engineering, environmental permitting and preparation for construction activities.
Construction and installation
Construction of key industrial infrastructure and installation of major equipment.
Copper Smelter & Refinery operational
MilestoneRenewable Energy Supply System operational
MilestoneBlack Mass Processing Facility operational
Full operations
Innovation Fund
Supported by the European Union
POLVOLT is co-financed by the European Union Innovation Fund — one of the world’s largest funding programmes for innovative low-carbon technologies.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.