OnTo has developed Cathode-Healing as a low-cost recycling method to reuse lithium-ion materials. Also, end-of-life batteries have unpredictable characteristics due to state of health issues, and OnTo developed a deactivation process to render batteries safe for transportation and storage, benign chemistry to eliminate reactivity in batteries, even the worst-case scenarios with charged batteries. Dr. Sloop will update progress with deactivation and cathode-healing of lithium-ion batteries including performance on lithium iron phosphate, early-stage scrap conservation, design for recycling on the material and cell level, and application scenarios for battery deactivation.

As the ReCell Center moves into its fourth year, it has expanded its program scope to cover Direct Recycling of Material, Advanced Resource Recovery, Design for Sustainability, and Modeling and Analysis. The Center continues to scale-up its existing technologies and develop new technologies, applying them to the processing of both manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries. The presentation will highlight the expansion and progress of the Center.

Samples from an industrial recycling process of dry-shredded lithium-ion battery (LIB) materials were analyzed concerning the elemental composition and (organic) compound speciation. Deep understanding of the base material for LIB recycling was obtained by identification and analysis of transition metal stoichiometry, current collector metals, base electrolyte and electrolyte additive residues, aging marker molecules, and polymer binder fingerprints. Including a comprehensive characterization of shredded recycling material. Reverse engineering for tracing back the main electrode and electrolyte chemistries to pristine materials.

Full recycling solution which meets all requirements for green transition. -Ultra-short extraction and separation system to achieve efficient and synchronous recovery of Ni, Co, Mn to battery grade materials. -Efficient LFP Battery Recycling Process for the coming EOL storage and EV batteries. Novel battery asset management and carbon assessment system promote industrial carbon neutral.

As lithium and battery materials production increases in scalability, there is a need to understand solid-liquid separation and drying technologies for automated operation, improved efficiencies and reliabilities, and safety. At each step, requirements change, and plants must ask critical questions for selecting the optimum technologies for producing high-quality materials. This presentation provides information that engineers can use for developing creative process solutions to achieve battery-grade quality and a reliable and cost-effective operation.

The world is coalescing around lithium-ion batteries as the energy storage solution that will empower green energy across a wide array of sectors. But even in these early stages of adoption there are concerns about supply of the materials needed for widespread use of LIBs. Join Eric Frederickson, Managing Director of Call2Recycle, North America’s first and largest consumer battery stewardship organization, as we explore the unanswered questions, and potential answers, to creating a truly circular economy for lithium-ion batteries.

Batteries often contain a large number of metals, such as Li, Co, Ni, Cu, Mn, Fe, etc. Recycling batteries could reduce environmental pollution, and produce Ni, Co, Mn, and Li salts, as well as ternary anode materials and precursors, which can be used directly in the production of lithium battery cells, which is of great significance in building a closed loop industry chain, effectively recovering the cost of batteries. Labs wanting to analyze recycled batteries will learn the best way to analyze their samples.

With increasing market share of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in the secondary battery market and their applications in electric vehicles, the number of spent LIBs grows daily. This presents a unique business opportunity for recovering and recycling valuable metals from the spent lithium-ion cathode materials. This presentation provides a comprehensive review of the available hydrometallurgical technologies for recycling spent lithium-ion cathode active materials. The aim is to raise awareness of LIB recycling, provide comprehensive knowledge of hydrometallurgical recycling of lithium cathode active materials, and promote an environmentally friendlier hydrometallurgical recycling process.

Mechanical design of high-efficiency separation system for cathode electrodes. The organic solvent-based cathode active material liberation and purification produces low-cost, domestically-sourced, and environmentally-friendly battery materials.

As electromobility ramps up, the relevance of a functioning circular economy increases. In addition to recycling, the circular economy also includes strategies that extend the useful life of battery systems. These strategies also include re-use, describing the further use of battery systems in second-life applications. The most relevant second-life applications are stationary battery storage systems, used for various grid services. Numerous barriers exist during implementation of these. The most important solution approaches to overcome these barriers are addressed in the presentation.

Repurposing and reusing EV batteries before they are recycled can significantly improve their value proposition. Smartville has developed a highly-versatile energy storage building block, MOAB, with patented battery management hardware and data-driven performance qualifications to achieve safe and reliable EV battery reuse at-scale. This presentation will cover key challenges and misconceptions of repurposing EV batteries and Smartville’s innovative approaches to those problems.

How to leverage rail in battery material supply chains to create resilient supply chains that improve sustainability and reduce supply chain working capital.

As the landscape of the battery supply chain continues to change, only a focus on sustainable solutions will be able to meet the changing needs required to close the loop. A commitment to both recycling and cathode production is at the forefront of a circular battery supply chain and will assist in carbon reduction efforts. Learn about recycling initiatives that are focused on maximum material recovery. In addition, we’ll discuss a method of battery grade salts production technology that significantly reduces the carbon footprint compared to traditional methods.

Previously, I have talked about critical elements and sustainability in the context of lithium (ion) batteries. This presentation discusses acquisition of these elements in required amounts and quality and what it will take to sustain the industry’s use of Li, F, P, Co, Ni, Mn, Cu, Al, Si, and C_graphite. Needs per GWh, modes of acquisition, and can sustainability be approached are questions addressed. Also discussed: energy costs of acquiring these elements, incorporating them into a battery, energy delivered versus the cost of replacing “spent” batteries, and the ability of recycling and reuse to improve the energy and materials balance.

There has been much analysis of supply chains for battery raw materials. But flows of end-of-life material and manufacturing scrap have not received nearly as much attention. This material is a crucial factor in current and future material supply, and requires careful analysis. Many companies claim that they recycle batteries, but operations they perform differ widely from simply sorting material and passing along to another company, to actually processing and recovering -materials suitable for use in new batteries. In addition, manufacturing scrap, which is currently available in much larger quantity, is often added into the mix. Much of the material in the US and Europe is eventually exported and not recycled locally at all. This presentation will provide some quantitative estimate of these complex materials flows.