CD Laboratory for Advanced recycling of lithium-ion batteries

This CD Laboratory focuses on the challenges involved in recycling lithium-ion batteries, whose chemical compositions can vary greatly depending on their design. Research is being conducted into measures to overcome these challenges using innovative and sustainable methods.

Lithium-ion batteries, or LIBs for short, are used in numerous technical devices, from smartphones to vehicles, and their rechargeability represents a significant improvement in efficiency and sustainability compared to conventional disposable batteries. But no matter how long their service life may be, every lithium-ion battery will one day become unusable, and LIB recycling processes such as hydro- or pyrometallurgical methods are associated with major challenges such as high energy requirements, unwanted environmental impacts and complex handling of the different battery compositions.

The CD Laboratory is therefore working on the development and evaluation of new methods and approaches in this area in order to counteract these challenges and enable the efficient recycling of new battery types. The aim is to make processes faster, more flexible and, at the same time, achieve high recovery rates: As new LIB designs are constantly being developed in industry, the recycling process must respond to their correspondingly different chemical compositions.

It is also important to minimise the formation of by-products such as neutral salts in hydrometallurgy (metal extraction via reactions with liquids). At the same time, the remaining neutral salts should be converted into basic chemicals that can be reused for the manufacture of chemical products. Last but not least, it is also important to find ways to better separate and recover valuable materials from the resulting mixtures of substances.

The CD Laboratory´s research therefore combines advanced analytical techniques, statistical experimental design, thermodynamic calculations and careful process evaluation in order to gain a deeper understanding of the behaviour of the elements in LIBs. The aim is to find ways to improve the efficiency, sustainability and cost-effectiveness of LIB recycling processes, taking into account the diverse and constantly evolving battery chemistry.

To this end, research is being conducted in the field of (bio)hydrometallurgy, among others, where advanced strategies for managing contaminants are being developed and currently applied recycling technologies are being combined with new chemical and process innovations. This will provide knowledge on how to achieve the most ideal, selective metal recovery while minimising metal losses. At the same time, the assessment of the environmental impact of the recycling processes outlined and the identification of potential improvements play an important role in this context. In order to bridge the gap between laboratory-scale experiments and continuous industrial operation, experiments on a so-called ‘miniplant’ scale are also used, in which process performance is evaluated under industry-like conditions.

The CD Laboratory is thus making an important contribution to improving existing and future LIB recycling processes and technologies, which in turn will lead to higher recovery rates and a simultaneous reduction in negative environmental impacts, supporting EU goals for sustainability and self-sufficiency: If old batteries can be converted into valuable resources, the (circular) economy, the environment and (through greater security of supply) the population will all benefit equally!