The partners in the Demobat project have not only developed a flexible system to separate the individual components of the batteries from each other, but also a way to recover the raw materials they contain from the black mass.
Intensively used batteries, taken from electric buses, get a second life as part of Project Anubis. This initiative of RWE and VDL Bus & Coach revolves around the sustainable use of EV batteries as part of a central storage system in Moerdijk, the Netherlands.
In the new Libinfinity project, partners from research and industry are developing a concept to recycle materials from lithium batteries. They are developing an innovative process that does not require energy-intensive process steps and allows higher recycling rates.
From 2025, BASF will fully recycle shredded spent batteries in Schwarzheide. The plant will then recover materials for new lithium-ion batteries, entirely in the spirit of a circular economy.
With Voltfang Industrial, German start-up Voltfang presents a battery storage system from second-life EV batteries for stationary energy storage applications.
Rock Tech Lithium has agreed to collaborate with Fraunhofer Umsicht and supply chain tracking company Circulor to provide carbon-neutral lithium from Europe.
As the number of batteries reaching their end of life is set to increase seven-fold by the end of this decade, the battery recycling industry is expecting to see substantial growth.
Demand for raw materials is rising fast as the transportation and energy sectors’ appetite for large lithium-ion batteries continues to grow. The European Union has designated some of these raw materials as being critical. Cobalt, lithium and natural graphite fall into that category, but today’s recycling processes can only recover some of the metals, and lithium not at all.
