Recycling of batteries - How to improve chemical recycling efficiency and sustainability?
Prof. Ulla Lassi, University of Oulu
Batteries play a key role in our daily life, e.g., in laptops, mobile phones, and increasingly in transportation applications. Furthermore, the use of wind and solar energy is an urgent issue in green transition where energy storage solutions are urgently needed. Currently, most of these battery applications are based on lithium-ion technology, but new emerging battery technologies are appearing on the market. Similarly, requirements for battery recycling are increasing, with the demand of efficient recycling rates and recoveries.
Two main approaches for battery cell recycling are thermal and hydrometallurgical treatments. Both requires chemical treatment processes, such as leaching, extraction, and precipitation. New EU Battery regulation requires the recovery of lithium from spent batteries (not yet done), and increased recovery rates for other elements, such as nickel and cobalt. How to improve chemical recycling efficiency, and sustainability of recycling processes is discussed. Some examples of the research activities of University of Oulu in the field are shown, including recent results of BATCircle, and international Horizon projects SAFELOOP and STREAMS.
