Solvent extraction plays an important role in the recovery of “critical materials” like Cobalt and Nickel and more recently also Lithium in the recycling process of batteries. The diluent impacts not only the performance but also certain aspects of sustainability of the process. The paper will present criteria and industry examples of how to select the most suitable diluent.

The end of life phase of batteries has a significant contribution to the overall environmental impact of such systems. But, the present used pyro- and hydro-metallurgical processes are connected with relatively high demand in energy or materials. Thus, the environmental efforts of the recycling process and the gained environmental value of the produced secondary raw materials have to be considered to estimate the net impacts. Problematic seems the trend towards decreased material values within the batteries, which significantly influences the net impact of the recycling process.

Following the strong growth of e-mobility, significant volumes of EOL batteries are expected to flood the market from 2025, exceeding 670 kT by 2030 – a tremendous value pool which simultaneously provides chances for sustainability. Employing efficient hydrometallurgical recycling methods allows for ecofriendly recovery of materials with reduced CO2 footprint compared to conventional mining routes, especially for localized recycling setups omitting complex logistics. P3 will provide an overview over current Li-ion cell CO2 footprint as well as potentials for a European cell recycling company.

According to UNICEF and Pure Earth’s report from July 2020, one in three children around the world may be suffering from lead poisoning, with children in low- and in middle-income countries being most severely affected. Lead pollution originates predominantly from informal recycling of used lead-acid batteries, done in unmonitored facilities without necessary workers’ protection and environmental controls. One of the answers to this problem can be providing an environmentally friendly alternative to an intrinsically polluting, smelting-based lead recycling. Solveteq and Imperial College London are developing a low-temperature technology that requires significantly less energy to recover lead and lead materials, while reducing emissions of hazardous air pollutants and production of slag. Currently, Solveteq is at the prototyping stage and first results from its feasibility studies, and our technical road map will be presented.

Lithium-ion recycling is challenged by cost and safety related to reactivity of lithium and electrolytes.  OnTo’s deactivation eliminates flammability and residual reactivity, enabling a roadmap for safe, low-cost, end-of-life battery services essential to the industry.  Deactivation coupled with Cathode-healing provides safety and efficiency in material recycling that can be applied all along the manufacturing value chain. Dr. Sloop will present recent developments in application and scale of these innovative technologies.

The widespread use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in a multitude of industrial and private applications has led to the need for recycling and reutilization of their constituent components. However, due to their high voltage, high stored energy and reactive components, lithium-ion batteries can present a specific and significant hazard potential. This especially comes into play during recycling because nearly every safety precaution of a battery system and battery cell needs to be bypassed. These hazards of LIBs can be roughly divided into different areas: electrical hazard; fire and explosion hazard; and chemical hazard. Here, in this work, we focus on the chemical-based potential hazards with regard to the storage and handling of the cells.

This research presents the development of a new analytical procedure based on individual particle characterization in order to monitor and diagnose lithium-ion battery recycling. Automated mineralogy combines high-resolution backscatter electron images with energy dispersive X-ray analysis. This method enables the acquisition of particle-based information such as elemental and phase composition, morphology, association and degree of liberation. This study compares the liberation efficiency of two recycling routes, mechanical and thermo-mechanical.

With massive vehicle electrification happening within this decade, raw material demand will skyrocket. There is wide industry consensus that an effective closed loop solution (recycling metals back to their original battery application) is a crucial part of that meeting metal demand. But this is where industry consensus usually ends. This presentation aims to debunk some of the myths that continue to exist in the recycling community.

The EU Commission has proposed a number of measures to promote the production of more sustainable batteries in EU in October 2020. Some specific requirements about the minimum content of recycled materials in the new batteries may have an important impact. Why such a requirement and what are the expected benefits and practical implementation limits? An analysis of consequences on the innovation and development of future batteries technologies will be presented, associated with industry recommendations.

When a battery spent its stable life portion in a traction application and was used to a point in which recycling pays off, it will enter the stage for the recycling market. Who is running for winning this business with what technology and which possible business case? A methodic market study by AVL Strategy Engineers and AVL sheds light on the race between European companies developing technologies and Chinese companies already running implemented processes. In this presentation, the question, if the recycling of traction batteries in Europe is a profitable, long-term business to invest into, will be discussed. 

Market trend, regulations, key players, and technological development surrounding LIB recycling vary greatly from region to region. Based on the future outlook of EV market in each region, we will introduce our hypothesis on the risks and business opportunities in LIB recycling. Also we will consider multiple scenarios for the LIB recycling market expansion.

There remains significant area for improvement for cost-effective electric vehicle battery recycling. Many of these batteries cost money to properly recycle, and this issue will continue to grow as battery chemistries use less cobalt.  The ReCell Center is working to increase the economic attractiveness of battery recycling by developing direct cathode-recycling technologies and other processing strategies that will improve the economics of recycling these products.  This presentation will provide background information about the center, as well as an update on its progress.

This presentation will explore the need for localizing the critical battery materials supply chain in new regions, while addressing the economic and sustainability challenges of lithium-ion battery recycling and how Li-Cycle®’s Hub-and-Spoke model is able to help overcome some of these industry challenges, particularly in light of the recent pandemic. It is known that Li-ion batteries play an essential role in the global transition toward electrification of transport. According to BNEF’s recent study, worldwide electric vehicle sales will rise from 2 million in 2018 to 56 million by 2040, which accumulated 559 million electric vehicles will be on the road worldwide. However, much of the supply chain, from raw materials through production, is scattered throughout the world, requiring materials to cross many oceans before a battery is produced, predominantly in Asia. One way to deal with this problem is to have a viable option for creating a secondary source of these critical materials from the rapidly growing volumes of spent lithium-ion batteries, in conjunction with the projected growth in battery production in regions such as Europe and North America. The world needs improved technology and supply chain innovations to recycle these batteries locally, and more sustainability to meet the rapidly growing demand for critical and scarce battery-grade materials and close the loop in this market. Li-Cycle™ provides a solution for this gap through an innovative and sustainable resource recovery process that can bring a piece of the battery supply chain, critical material supply, to new regions of the world. Li-Cycle Corp. is a clean technology company aiming to address this challenge and support the industry to meet the rapidly growing demand for critical battery materials. Being one of few companies focused solely on recycling Li-ion batteries, Li-Cycle® has a unique insight into the challenges and opportunities of the industry, as well as the necessity for proper end-of-life logistics management. Li-Cycle Technology™ uses a combination of mechanical size reduction and hydrometallurgical resource recovery that is specifically designed for lithium-ion battery recycling. The process results in a recovery rate of 80-100%, which is unparalleled in industry, and end-products are high quality and battery-grade, promoting a circular economy.

Many current approaches to EV battery recycling focus on comminution (shredding) as a preliminary treatment step. In doing so, a great deal of value is destroyed as materials are mixed together. Whilst mechanically simple, this results in additional technical complexity later in the recycling process. This talk explores the future of battery recycling and how it will employ more sophisticated disassembly, robotics and AI to recover more value from batteries.