GRINNER, a recent project funded through the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, will concentrate on trying to reduce the impact of fires caused by batteries. Currently it is one of the main issues that is affecting the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) management chain. These fires caused by batteries cost waste management facilities millions of euros every year, force facilities to close for months or even years, and become an important obstacle in Europe’s goal to be circular and carbon-neutral.
The fires are usually produced when some battery types located inside discarded WEEE, in particular lithium-ion (Li-ion) and nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), are damaged and, as a result, ignite or explode.
The GRINNER project intends to commercialise an autonomous AI-enabled robotic sorting system that is capable of detecting and removing electronic waste containing batteries from processing conveyor belts before they are damaged by machines that crush and consolidate waste.
The system will encompass an energy-resolved x-ray detectors as well as a software enabled module that will analyse x-ray data and effectively detect waste containing batteries that is then removed by a vision-based pick-and-place robot.
The initial product of the GRINNER system will be a low-weight, superfast, automated battery identifier that can be easily incorporated into existing WEEE as well as other similar recycling environments, allowing them to effectively and safely extract batteries and battery containing items.
The project is being led by LYNQ, a company specialising in and manufacturing execution system software, the GRINNER consortium comprises an interdisciplinary team of experts from seven research and industry organisations across the same number of European countries.
