Currently, the European recycling supply chain is not a complete closed loop within the region, and the challenges include: (1) "leakage" of black mass to Asia, (2) economies of scale sufficient to ensure profitability, and (3) lack of pCAM factories. This presentation will discuss the challenges and business opportunities for establishing a closed loop supply chain within Europe in the future.

High demand in battery cells will also drive a robust supply in Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt & manganese but also natural & synthetic graphite. The upstream battery chain is mainly controlled by China. If Europe and North America want to reduce their dependency in battery raw materials, they need to develop associated mining, extraction & refining but it will take years at least 10 years for Mining. An alternative route is to develop rapidly battery recycling to reduce the need for raw materials extraction from our planet. The two main sources are battery scrap and End-of-Life (EOL) batteries.

Today, the European LiB industry relies heavily on battery materials and its recycling, primarily sourced from Asia. This dependence leads to longer transportation distances, inefficient and resource-intensive recycling processes, and increased carbon emissions. Green Li-Ion’s on-site, economical, and environmentally friendly battery recycling technology aims to unlock Europe's recycling potential and foster a circular economy for lithium-ion batteries by domestically remanufacturing battery-grade materials.

Water-using recycling processes—such as wet crushing and electrohydraulic fragmentation—generate large amounts of contaminated process water, resulting in increased costs for the disposal of hazardous waste and safety guidelines. To improve wastewater management, safety, and sustainability of water-assisted recycling processes, comprehensive knowledge of the battery components in the water are required. Analytical techniques can play an important role during these processes, including wet shredding processes, wastewater management, and analytical techniques.

The diluent plays an important role in the metal solvent extraction processes. It does impact on the performance of the operation. The presentation will compare several diluents and provide an overview of the properties that are part of the optimum diluent selection process. Diluents is usually the last parameter that we think about optimising but the right diluent is a tradeoff between extraction efficiency, process robustness, and for sure safety, environmental concerns, and cost. The presentation will also highlight the superior behaviour of the neodecanoic acid for nickel recovery.

Deactivation of batteries and direct recycling of their materials are critical technologies to improve logistical safety in the supply chain at battery end-of-life, and to reuse scrap in original manufacturing. Onsite recycling to address manufacturing scrap and onsite neutralisation to address generation of class-9 hazards in lithium-ion battery recycling are technologies developed by OnTo; these are available for integration within the industry from the gigafactory to the EV service shop.

This proposal presents a sustainable electrochemical approach for recovering lithium from spent Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries. By leveraging energy-efficient and selective redox processes, the method minimizes chemical waste and environmental impact while offering a cost-effective recycling solution.

Business Finland has granted a 13 M€ project where battery recycling is in a strong focus. This presentation will address the project with special focus on bipolar membrane electrolysis (BPED) in enabling circular chemistry in Na-based hydrometallurgical process chemistries with potential for increasing both the economical and environmental sustainability.

LFP batteries are an interesting option to replace NMC batteries in some applications, but not using high-impact materials like Co and Ni. But after use-phase, LFP needs to be recycled. Biggest challenge associated with LFP recycling is the relatively high operational costs/efforts compared to the low value (on economic and environmental level) of the recovered materials. Thus, new recycling routes need to be developed to allow for more efficient recycling.

The processing of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) through mechanical and physical separations, sometimes referred to as “direct recycling,” has the advantage of recovering battery active materials with minimal changes in their chemical structure. In this work, we present our recent work on battery materials characterisation methods to better understand and improve the separation processes of active materials, with a focus on froth flotation.

How do different pre-treatments affect black mass in mechanical recycling.

ABR's direct recycling technology provides an innovative, eco-friendly solution for lithium-ion battery recycling. ABR's approach employs water and ultrasonic techniques to recover cathode and anode materials while retaining their structural integrity for remanufacturing. Achieves a 50% reduction in recycling costs compared to conventional methods. Reduces CO2 emissions by 85%, significantly lowering the carbon footprint. Facilitates a circular economy by reintroducing high-quality recycled materials into the supply chain. ABR operates the world's first production line capable of producing 20 tons of remanufactured cathode and anode materials, establishing itself as a pioneer in sustainable battery recycling.

This study explores pre-treatment techniques for recycling End-of-Life (EOL) electric vehicle (EV) batteries, tailored to their varying conditions, such as charge level, structural integrity, and chemical composition. By evaluating methods like cryogenic crushing, electrical discharge, and chemical stabilisation, the research aims to enhance safety, material recovery efficiency, and environmental sustainability. The findings provide actionable insights for optimising recycling processes and contributing to the development of a circular economy in the EV battery sector.