ULTRAsound-assisted recycling of Lithium and Critical metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (ULTRALiC)

With the ever-growing demand for Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs), especially due to the exponential expansion of electrical vehicles (EV) usage, it is anticipated there will be an explosion in the number of spent LIB's, and the need for key metals for new batteries and other technologies. Spent LIBs contain heavy metals, organic chemicals, plastics, _etc._, which will cause great harm to the environment. They also contain valuable metals of Ni, Co, Mn, Li, which will cause the squandering of resources without reasonable recycling. Therefore, recycling of spent LIBs is necessary for protecting the environment and saving resources.

All the state-of-the-art methods used today to recycle batteries involve high energy requirements, use environmentally damaging chemicals and result in material recovery in forms that are inappropriate for reuse in a circular economy approach. As a result of this, less than 5% of LIBs are currently recycled. Manufacturers prefer using new raw material rather then investing in recycling waste batteries.

This project aims at developing technology that will enable recovery of Lithium and other key metals from spent LIB's. The recovery will be carried out directly from the battery's electrodes without shredding the battery's components. Ultrasonics will be used to assist delamination of active metals from electrodes and to recover them. The process will be simple and cost-effective and, unlike the current industrial methods, will enable recovery of metals in a purity grade sufficient to re-use them in new batteries.

Success of this project will contribute to efficient circular economy in the field of lithium-ion battery and, as a result, to the EV industry, creating confidence among the public that EV usage is not harmful to the environment nor to natural resources.