Asahi Kasei, a diversified Japanese multinational company, has developed a new technology for recycling carbon fiber plastic compounds together with the National Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu College and Tokyo University of Science. Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) are highly attractive for various industries in demanding application fields due to their... Read more →

Fujitsu and Teijin launched a joint project running from January to March 2023 to enhance the environmental value of recycled resources in the production of bicycle frames together with V Frames GmbH, a German manufacturer and distributor of carbon fiber reinforced plastic bicycle frames, and E Bike Advanced Technologies GmbH,... Read more →

RecycLiCo Battery Materials (formerly American Manganese), has delivered samples of its battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide to battery manufacturers in Japan and South Korea. The companies, which are among the top manufacturers in the region, will conduct a technical review of the lithium products and explore potential business partnership... Read more →

Aqua Metals has successfully recovered critical battery metal from spent lithium-ion batteries at production scale by electroplating. The company’s pilot Li AquaRefining system has demonstrated the ability to remove impurities and trace metals from tons of recycled lithium battery black mass and then selectively recover pure metal using electricity instead... Read more →

Used and damaged cars are often disposed of via energy-intensive scrapping processes—even when many of their parts are still fully functional. In the EKODA project, Fraunhofer researchers are developing an alternative. First, they examine each component in a complex testing procedure. Then they use an evaluation system to generate recommendations... Read more →

Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a novel process to clean coal mine drainage and extract rare-earth elements from it. In an open-access paper in the journal Environmental Engineering Science, the team reports that the process successfully cleaned clean coal mine drainage while producing rare-earth elements in samples... Read more →

NEO Battery Materials, a developer of silicon anode materials, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with an Asia-based producer of high-purity silicon powder through recycling silicon by-product waste from solar photovoltaic cell and semiconductor manufacturing. The recycler will remain confidential until officially disclosed. The purpose is to enhance the price... Read more →

Researchers from The University of Birmingham in the UK have demonstrated that the direct reuse of aluminum and copper current collectors from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is possible. An open-access paper on their study is published in the RSC journal Green Chemistry. Zhu et al. The ever-increasing number of spent... Read more →

Electra Battery Materials (earlier post) launched a demonstration plant designed to recover and recycle high-value elements found in lithium-ion batteries, including nickel, cobalt, lithium, copper, and graphite at its refinery complex north of Toronto. With the outlook for electric vehicle adoption in North America becoming increasingly bullish as a result... Read more →

LG Chem entered an equity investment agreement worth 24 billion KRW (US$18.6 million) with the waste battery recycling company, Jae Young Tech. Based on this equity investment, the two companies plan to establish a battery recycling joint venture in North America by the end of 2023. LG Chem will lead... Read more →

Rice University scientists led by chemist James Tour have used an ultrafast flash recycling method to regenerate the graphite anode from spent Li-ion batteries and recover valuable battery metal resources. Tour is the T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry and a professor of materials science and nanoengineering; Tour introduced... Read more →

The Dürr Group is delivering technology for the sustainable manufacture of lithium-ion batteries to be used in CATL’s plant that is currently being built in Arnstadt, Germany. The order comprises several systems based on an eco-friendly process for solvent recovery in production. This prevents tens of thousands of tons of... Read more →

Redwood Materials will build its next Battery Materials Campus just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. At Camp Hall in Berkeley County, Redwood will recycle, refine and manufacture anode and cathode components on more than 600 acres, creating more than 1,500 jobs and investing $3.5 billion in the local community. Eventually,... Read more →

ACE Green Recycling (ACE), a global recycling technology and supply chain platform, and diversified mining firm Glencore plc will enter a long-term supply agreement for recycled lead as well as key battery-metal-based end products from recycled lithium-ion batteries. This strategic partnership will help create a circular supply chain on a... Read more →

Synova, SABIC Global Technologies B.V., an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), and Technip Energies recently signed a Joint Development and Cooperation Agreement to collaborate on the development and realization of a commercial plant which will produce olefins and aromatics from plastic waste. The plant will use a combined... Read more →

Constellium SE is leading a new consortium of automakers and suppliers to develop lower carbon, lower cost aluminum extrusion alloys. Sponsored by a grant from the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Center (APC), the £10-million (US$12.3-million) CirConAl (Circular and Constant aluminum) project aims to maximize the use of post-consumer scrap in a... Read more →

LanzaTech and Sumitomo Riko Company have entered into a joint-development agreement to reuse rubber, resin and urethane waste for the production of a key chemical intermediate, isoprene. Isoprene is produced by plants, and along with its polymers, is the main component of natural rubber. Natural rubber is widely regarded as... Read more →

Norway-based research organization SINTEF is currently heading a major EU-funded project called HARARE, which aims to use hydrogen to recover copper and aluminum from copper slag and bauxite residues (red muds), respectively. HARARE stands for “Hydrogen As the Reducing Agent in the REcovery of metals and minerals from metallurgical waste”.... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced $73.9 million in funding for 10 projects to advance technologies and processes for electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling and reuse. With demand for critical battery minerals, such as lithium and graphite, projected to increase by as much as 4,000% in the coming decades,... Read more →

RecycLiCo Battery Materials (formerly American Manganese), a battery materials company focused on the development of novel and environmentally friendly lithium-ion battery recycling and upcycling technologies, and its R&D partner Kemetco Research provided an operational update on the RecycLiCo hydrometallurgical demonstration plant in Vancouver, Canada. Since its commissioning earlier this year,... Read more →

Cirba Solutions (previously Retriev Solutions, LLC) has extended a prior agreement with General Motors (GM) to recycle electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion battery and cell scrap generated by manufacturing and research at select GM facilities through 2024. With more than a million pounds of batteries already recycled by GM, this program... Read more →

MAN Truck & Bus is working on the post-usage strategy for its electric-vehicle batteries. The aim is to extend the life of the batteries in the first step and, if this is no longer possible, to recycle the raw materials contained in them. In the truck sector, MAN Truck &... Read more →

Li-Cycle Holdings, the leading lithium-ion battery recycler in North America, and Vines Energy Solutions (VinES), a Vingroup company that specializes in the research, development and manufacturing of advanced batteries for mobility and energy storage applications, launched a global recycling partnership. Vingroup is the largest private conglomerate in Vietnam. Under the... Read more →

Digital transparency company Everledger launched a battery passport pilot with leading automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Company to ensure responsible recycling of EV batteries. The pilot leverages Everledger’s technology platform to track electric vehicle (EV) batteries throughout their lifecycle to ensure responsible management during use and recycling at the end of... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) will award $38 million to 12 projects that will work to reduce the impacts of light-water reactor used nuclear fuel (UNF) disposal. (Earlier post.) The projects, led by universities, private companies, and national laboratories, were selected to... Read more →

Ascend Elements has begun construction of its largest electric vehicle battery recycling and engineered materials manufacturing facility. The facility will help meet North America’s growing demand for lithium-ion battery materials, specifically engineered precursor (pCAM) and battery-ready cathode active materials (CAM). When finished, the Apex 1 facility will produce enough pCAM... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding a combined $2.8 billion to 21 projects to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and the electrical grid and for materials and components currently imported from other countries. (Earlier post.) Of that, $75,000,000 will go to one project in... Read more →

Li-Cycle has started commercial operations in its Alabama Spoke located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Li-Cycle’s fourth Spoke recycling facility in North America has capacity to process up to 10,000 tonnes of manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries per year. The Alabama Spoke utilizes Li-Cycle’s patented and environmentally friendly technology to recycle and... Read more →

Johnson Matthey (JM) has begun fuel cell recycling in China. Located in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, the plant is refining and recycling the platinum group metal content from membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), a key component of an automotive fuel cell, from Unilia, a leading provider of fuel cell stack technology. While... Read more →

Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory have developed a dimethyl ether-driven fractional crystallization process for separating rare earth elements and transition metals. The process has been successfully applied in the treatment of rare earth element-bearing permanent magnet leachates as an atom-efficient, reagent-free separation method. An open-access paper on their work is... Read more →

GM Ventures, the automaker’s investment arm, has made a strategic investment in Lithion Recycling’s Series A financing round, supporting a new GM-Lithion strategic partnership agreement to pursue a circular battery ecosystem using Lithion’s advanced battery recycling technology. This collaboration between GM and Lithion will focus on: Validation of Lithion’s recovered... Read more →

In a first for the automotive industry, the models of the NEUE KLASSE due to be launched from 2025 onwards will feature trim parts made of plastic the raw material of which contains around 30% recycled fishing nets and ropes. This raw material is proactively sourced at ports all around... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz’ battery recycling subsidiary Licular GmbH—founded in 2021—is heading the consortium for LIBinfinity, a €17-million battery-recycling project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). LIBinfinity focuses on a holistic concept for recycling materials of lithium-ion batteries using a mechanico-hydrometallurgical process without energy-intensive process steps.... Read more →

Teijin Frontier, the Teijin Group’s fibers and products converting company, has developed an eco-friendly tire cord made from an adhesive that does not contain resorcinol formaldehyde (RF), which is harmful to the human body and the environment, and also incorporates a low-environmental impact chemically recycled polyester fiber for rubber reinforcement.... Read more →

Demand for lithium-ion batteries is set to grow six-fold by 2032, according to Benchmark. Accordingly, the world needs more than 300 new mines to be built by 2035 if raw material supply is to keep up with this demand, according to a new analysis by Benchmark. However, recycling could help... Read more →

Cirba Solutions, a recycled battery management and materials company, will form a joint venture with 6K Inc., a producer of sustainable advanced materials for additive manufacturing and energy storage via the UniMelt plasma system, to produce recycled battery cathode material, thereby closing the loop in the management of lithium-ion batteries.... Read more →

To reduce natural resource usage and its trucks’ environmental impact, Renault Trucks (part of the Volvo Group) is taking steps to transition its industrial operations to a circular-economy approach. Renault Trucks’ new Used Parts Factory is the logical next step after the used trucks repurposing and remanufacturing operations conducted respectively... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Manufacturing & Energy Supply Chains Office in collaboration with the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office issued a Request for Information (RFI) (DE-FOA-0002833) to help guide the implementation of $335 million in investments from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for lithium-ion battery recycling... Read more →

BASF and Sulzer Chemtech (GTC Technology) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the goal of advancing technologies for renewable fuels and chemically recycled plastics that will further expand the partners’ portfolio of sustainable solutions. The companies agreed to enter a strategic partnership to reduce the carbon intensity of renewable... Read more →

A new study by The University of South Australia (UniSA) has tested and verified the structural integrity of walls constructed from tires packed with earth, with the results potentially providing new opportunities for the reuse of end-of-life tires in the construction industry. Tire waste represents a major sustainability challenge globally,... Read more →

Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have developed a sustainable lithium recovery process which can selectively leach and recover lithium with formic acid before recycling valuable metals. With their method, lithium can be 99.8% recovered from layered oxide cathode materials with 99.994% purity. In addition, this lithium recovery process is... Read more →

A team from Central South University in China has developed a new type of deep eutectic solvent (DES) that can efficiently leach metal elements from spent Ni-Co-Mn lithium-ion batteries (LNCM). The leaching rates of Ni, Co, Mn, and Li can all reach 99% under the conditions of T=140°C, t=10 min... Read more →

Ascend Elements plans to invest $310 million in Phase 1—and up to $1 billion over several possible phases—to build a sustainable lithium-ion battery materials facility in Hopkinsville, Ky., with groundbreaking expected in Q4 2022. The manufacturing facility, known as “Apex 1”, will be home to the company’s Hydro-to-Cathode direct precursor... Read more →

American Battery Technology Company (ABTC), a US-based critical battery materials company that is commercializing both its primary minerals manufacturing and secondary minerals lithium-ion battery recycling technologies (earlier post), is establishing new laboratories at its Research Development Center focused on domestically and sustainably sourced battery metals extraction and qualification processes. The... Read more →

A team from Central South University, Changsha, China and Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi’an, China, has proposed a mechanochemistry-based process to recover metals from waste cathode materials of LiCoO2 (LCO) and LiFePO4 (LFP) in spent Li-ion batteries (LIBs). An open-access paper on the approach is published in the... Read more →

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (VWGoA) and Redwood Materials, Inc. (Redwood) will collaborate to create a supply chain to recycle Volkswagen and Audi electric vehicle batteries in the United States, with the goal of providing accessible and more sustainable electric mobility for American drivers. The collaboration advances Volkswagen Group of... Read more →

SiTration, an MIT spinoff developing new separation processes for materials extraction, raised $2.35 million in pre-seed funding led by Azolla Ventures with participation from the MIT-affiliated E14 Fund. The funding will enable SiTration to accelerate hiring and ramp up development of its technology for the recovery of critical materials in... Read more →

Teijin and Fujitsu launched a joint project to realize a blockchain-based commercial platform for enhancing the environmental value of recycled materials for manufacturers. The collaboration will promote environmentally conscious design by leveraging Teijin’s Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Calculation Method for measuring the environmental impact of manufacturing processes across the value... Read more →

Graphmatech, Graphenea, and Northvolt have succeeded in up-cycling end-of-life EV batteries into graphene oxide at industrial pilot scale. This breakthrough uses the material left after Northvolt has extracted valuable metals and minerals. Until now, that remaining material has been waste. The upcycling of graphene oxide from recycled batteries represents a... Read more →

Toyota Motor North America has embarked on a mission to create a sustainable, closed-loop battery ecosystem for its electrified powertrains. This focuses not only on the collection, testing and recycling of batteries into raw materials to create a sustainable supply chain, but also aims to develop second-life opportunities for remanufactured... Read more →