The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced an intent (DE-FOA-0003343) to fund up to $70 million for projects that will improve the economics of electric drive vehicle battery recovery and re-use. Funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this investment supports research, development, and demonstration of second-life applications for batteries once used to power electric vehicles (EVs) and new technologies and processes for recycling and reclaiming critical materials back into the battery supply chain.

With the demand for EVs and stationary storage projected to increase the size of the lithium battery market by five- to ten-fold by the end of the decade, it is essential that the United States invests in the capacity to accelerate the development of a resilient supply chain for high-capacity batteries, including non-lithium batteries.

This anticipated funding is the third phase of $200 million in total provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for electric drive vehicle battery recycling and second life applications. In the first phase, DOE awarded $74 million to 10 projects to advance technologies and processes for EV battery recycling and re-use. Funding for the second phase was announced in December 2023, and announcement of phase two project selections is pending.

Anticipated topics in the third phase of funding include:

• Improving the economics of recycling lithium iron phosphate (LFP)-based batteries: With the growing market share of vehicles using LFP-based battery packs, reducing the cost of producing recycled LFP materials is paramount to improving battery recycling economics. This topic would reduce the cost of producing LFP cathodes from recyclable feedstocks such as manufacturing scrap and end-of-life EV batteries.

• Improving the recovery and re-use of electrolyte components from Li-ion batteries: The United States does not currently have substantial manufacturing capacity or the materials to produce electrolyte components that enable high-performance EV batteries. This topic would improve the recovery of electrolyte components from recyclable feedstocks such as manufacturing scrap and end-of-life EV batteries.

• Upcycling and improving the value of recovered materials from electric drive vehicle batteries: Lower value battery chemistries and cell components are rarely recycled today due to high processing costs. This topic would develop and demonstrate technologies that maximize the recovery and value of critical materials, such as graphite, manganese, and polymers, from electric drive vehicle batteries through recycling or upcycling for use in new products or applications.

• Demonstrating and improving the state of health evaluation and safety for second-use applications of electric drive vehicle batteries: New and innovative state-of-health measurement approaches are needed to address technical and economic challenges for second-life screening and deployment. The objective of this topic area is to develop and demonstrate methods, technologies, or process that enable second-life applications of EV batteries.