A team of researchers from the Faraday Institution at the University of Leicester have come up with a novel way of recycling electric vehicle (EV) batteries, using ultrasonic waves.
Existing solutions to end-of-life batteries involve breaking them down in a shredder or high-temperature reactor, with a series of chemicals needed to then reuse the materials for new products – a labour intensive and expensive process that also does not yield high grade materials.
The team’s new approach looks at disassembling rather than shredding – allowing collection of minerals such as lithium, nickel, manganese and copper, in a better quality state. The ultrasonic method blasts away unwanted materials to leave behind the valuable mineral beneath.
Professor Andy Abbott, who lead the team, said: “This novel procedure is 100 times quicker and greener than conventional battery recycling techniques and leads to a higher purity of recovered materials. It essentially works in the same way as a dentist’s ultrasonic descaler, breaking down adhesive bonds between the coating layer and the substrate.”
“It is likely that the initial use of this technology will feed recycled materials straight back into the battery production line. This is a real step change moment in battery recycling” he adds.
The lack of recycling infrastructure for battery materials remains a major obstacle in the uptake of EV’s. Currently, less than 5% of lithium-ion batteries make it to recycling plants, while the rest go to landfill – causing concern over the leaching of their chemicals into the surrounding environment. Cracking the code of recycling these mammoth batteries would be a game changer for the industry.
Professor Pam Thomas, CEO, The Faraday Institution commented: “For the full value of battery technologies to be captured for the UK, we must focus on the entire life cycle — from the mining of critical materials to battery manufacture to recycling — to create a circular economy that is both sustainable for the planet and profitable for industry.”
The team tested its method on the four most common battery types, with results showing it was equally effective with each kind. Discussions are currently underway with battery manufacturers to establish a pilot project at an industrial site this year, with the ultimate goal of licensing the technology.
