Recycling & Refining

Umicore refines any type of material or waste that contains at least 0.5% germanium. We turn this waste back into high-purity germanium — up to 99.99999999999% pure — to create new products. 

Refining and recycling are closely linked at Umicore, often using the same processes. Material is processed via pyrometallurgical (smelting) or hydrometallurgical (leaching) methods, depending on the composition of the feed materials and the germanium grade. This refining process yields pure germanium tetrachloride or germanium dioxide as intermediate compounds, which are converted into the germanium metal and grown into crystals for high-performance lenses and wafers. 

More than 50% of Umicore’s germanium feed comes from recycling, sourced from customer scrap and Umicore’s own scrap materials. Through tolling schemes, we sell germanium to customers for their products, take back the production scraps and then refine and recycle the germanium for re-use. The recycling of Umicore’s own germanium waste streams creates a closed-loop system and is part of Umicore’s circular business model, maximising cost, efficiency and sustainability.

The integration of all steps — from refining impure material to creating high-purity products — at a single site is unique for Umicore. Our leadership in closed-loop recycling is essential to European independence in critical raw materials.