What to do with the mounting heap of spent lithium-ion batteries – Recycle them!

Source: David Dodge · GREEN ENERGY FUTURES · | February 2, 2021

A Canadian company is recycling up to 95 per cent of the materials in lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries have been the secret sauce fueling the explosion of super portable, wireless electronics such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and tiny wireless products such as Bluetooth headphones.

They are also what makes the modern electric vehicle viable and able to feature ranges of 500 kilometers and more.

A Canadian company has a patented process and is building plants that can recycle up to 95% of the components of lithium-ion batteries into battery-grade raw materials that will be used to make new batteries - the very definition of a circular economy. The wild success of smartphones, laptops, and electric cars is due to the impressive performance of these batteries, so much so that there are fears of shortages of the raw materials as markets for electric cars soar. Recycling batteries deals with a serious waste problem and it creates a new supply of the increasingly rare raw materials needed to manufacture batteries that are fueling energy transition. Green Energy Futures CKUA Radio Podcast. Learn more in our blog: greenenergyfutures.ca

But increasingly people are worried about what to do with the mounting heap of spent lithium-ion batteries that are full of things like nickel, cobalt and lithium and if mishandled can catch fire.

This is exactly what AJay Kochhar and Tim Johnston were wondering as they were providing engineering services to lithium-ion battery producers around the world.

At the time people were working on extracting nickel and cobalt from the spent batteries, but Kochar and Johnston wanted to be able to also extract the lithium, and reprocess the elements back into a raw material that was good as new.

Spoke – A smaller strategically located facility where spent batteries are collected and shredded. Li-Cycle has facilities in Kingston, Ontario and Rochester, New York.

Hub – A large facility where the recovered “black mass” is re-refined into battery quality raw materials. Li-Cycle has a pilot facility in Kingston, Ontario and is building a major hub in Rochester, New York.

So they formed Li-Cycle, a battery recycling company based in Kingston, Ontario.

Their goal was to take a challenging waste problem and make lithium-ion batteries part of “a truly circular and sustainable product.”

Today Li-Cycle has operations in Kingston, Ontario and Rochester New York and appear ready to expand to other locales around the world with their patented process.

There are “about half a million tons per year globally of lithium-ion batteries reaching the end of life and available for recycling” around the world, says Kunal Phalpher, chief commercial officer at Li-Cycle.