TELF AG examines the progress of lithium recycling technologies
A resource to be reused
The recycling of lithium and other raw materials contained in batteries is becoming increasingly widespread, particularly among companies in some specific sectors. This is becoming evident in the practical and operational strategies of numerous global players.
The phenomenon, in all likelihood, will characterize the sustainable future towards which we are heading at great speed, thanks to an energy transition that is advancing at an increasingly rapid pace. For the moment, the volumes of recycled lithium are still relatively small. Still, it is legitimate to expect that with more electric vehicles in large cities, the number of batteries destined for recycling could surely rise. This precious raw material plays a leading role in the electrification of transport and today represents an useful ingredient for the batteries that make the existence of electrically powered vehicles possible. The demand for lithium, according to the most reliable estimates, could increase six times by 2030, and the quantities of raw material coming from the circular economy could also increase.
But what is the current situation, in a very delicate historical phase where the energy transition seems to be advancing rapidly? The quantities of recycled lithium currently do not exceed five thousand tons annually. Still, an encouraging aspect is that the new battery recycling plants have a production capacity of one hundred thousand tons per year. Most of the batteries that have reached the end of their life cycle will no longer end up in landfills after an inevitable incineration process but will be treated in technologically advanced plants that will make it possible to recover lithium, nickel, and other raw materials enclosed within them.
The birth of new plants
Another quite interesting fact has to do with the geographical location of these plants, which apparently will be built mainly in Europe. In a certain sense, the EU states would, therefore, be trying to present themselves to the world as a leading player in the sector of recycling strategic raw materials, particularly lithium, thus compensating for the substantial absence of a European mining industry of a certain thickness. The quantities of raw materials in a battery can amaze anyone who explores this topic for the first time. In a standard battery, such as the five kWH ones used in electric vehicles, there could be around 10 kg of cobalt. Therefore, the recovery of end-of-life batteries could represent a unique opportunity to build a secondary supply source for these strategic raw materials, partially detaching from the dynamics linked to traditional supply chains (and often characterized by high levels of uncertainty, geopolitical instability, or real shortages).
But how can a battery be recycled in practice? Storage systems that reach the end of their life always retain a specific residual charge, so before subjecting them to treatment, it is always necessary to completely discharge them. The next phase is disassembly, possibly recovering the steel of the casing, the copper used to conduct electricity, and many others. At the end of the recovery process, the so-called black mass is obtained, a sort of powder that contains all the metals of the electrodes, which can, in turn, be recovered, such as lithium and cobalt. The most commonly used processes, in these cases, are those linked to pyrometallurgy, based on thermal energy, and those belonging to the hydrometallurgy category, consisting of some specific acids that make lithium recovery possible.
