(Photo: Scientists at the ReCell Center made several lithium-ion battery recycling discoveries. Credit: Argonne National Laboratory)The Department of Energy’s ReCell Center at Argonne National Laboratory reported making several lithium-ion battery recycling breakthroughs since opening earlier last year.
Scientists at the ReCell Center have made discoveries in direct cathode recycling, recovering other materials, design for recycling, and modeling and analysis, according to director Jeffrey Spangenberger, who is also the group leader in materials recycling at Argonne.
Keeping lithium-ion batteries from becoming waste is a daunting challenge for consumer electronics companies and automakers. When the ReCell Center launched in 2019, its leadership was already anticipating an initial wave of electric vehicles to start reaching the ends of their lives, creating a supply of spent batteries that the US wasn’t equipped to handle.
Spent lithium-ion batteries still contain valuable components including nickel and cobalt, Spangenberger noted on the center’s website. He anticipates that automakers can lower manufacturing costs for a vehicle battery by 5% to 30% when they use recycled cathode material.
However, current recycling methods produce metal salts that then need to be reprocessed back into battery materials — and the low value of these materials prevents them from being commercially feasible in the United States, according to Spangenberger.
The ReCell Center team focused instead on direct cathode recycling to retain its original value. They tested at least nine basic direct recycling concepts that included successfully removing the battery’s binder and new methods for restoring the lithium content of degraded cathode materials.
In addition, the scientists are pursuing projects that recover other battery materials including lithium salts and electrolyte solvents, which could maximize the number of reusable components and provide more revenue for recyclers, Spangenberger wrote online.
By 2022, the scientists hope to demonstrate direct recycling from old cell to new, setting the stage for pilot-scale demonstrations that allow for commercial adoption.
“We have the opportunity to accelerate the growth of a profitable US recycling market for spent lithium-ion batteries,” Spangenberger told Environment + Energy Leader. “Since early 2019, scientists at the ReCell Center have made strides toward this goal, which will eventually reduce the cost of electric vehicle batteries.”
