Reclaimed and Up-Cycled Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

As electric vehicles become more widely used, there is a higher demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and hence a greater incentive to find better ways to recycle these at their end-of-life (EOL). This work focuses on the process of reclamation and re-use of cathode material from LIBs. Black mass containing mixed LiMn2O4 and Ni0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 from a Nissan Leaf pouch cell are recovered via two different recycling routes, shredding or disassembly. The waste material stream purity is compared for both processes, less aluminium and copper impurities are present in the disassembled waste stream. The reclaimed black mass is further treated to reclaim the transition metals in a salt solution, Ni, Mn, Co ratios are adjusted in order to synthesize an upcycled cathode, LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 via a co-precipitation method. The two reclamation processes (disassembly and shredding) are evaluated based on the purity of the reclaimed material, the performance of the remanufactured cell, and the energy required for the complete process. The electrochemical performance of recycled material is comparable to that of as-manufactured cathode material, indicating no detrimental effect of purified recycled transition metal content. This research represents an important step toward scalable approaches to the recycling of EOL cathode material in LIBs.

Publisher Correction: Recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles.

Rapid growth in the market for electric vehicles is imperative, to meet global targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to improve air quality in urban centres and to meet the needs of consumers, with whom electric vehicles are increasingly popular. However, growing numbers of electric vehicles present a serious waste-management challenge for recyclers at end-of-life. Nevertheless, spent batteries may also present an opportunity as manufacturers require access to strategic elements and critical materials for key components in electric-vehicle manufacture: recycled lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles could provide a valuable secondary source of materials. Here we outline and evaluate the current range of approaches to electric-vehicle lithium-ion battery recycling and re-use, and highlight areas for future progress.