EMR explore graphite recovery from EV batteries
Partnership with University of Birmingham will investigate ways to extract and recycle graphite from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries.
European Metal Recycling (EMR) has announced a new research project with the University of Birmingham that will explore possible strategies to recover graphite from recycled electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
The project will investigate the recovery and regeneration of graphite from ‘black mass’ materials produced during the recycling process, focusing on ways to produce graphite that can be reused in electric vehicles.
Currently, the recycling of lithium-ion batteries focuses on recovering metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel. However, graphite, which constitutes about 11 times more mass than lithium in EV batteries, is essential for the continued growth of the EV industry.
Graphite was labelled one of the critical minerals for economic importance and supply risk by the European Union, alongside lithium, cobalt and nickel.
EMR’s Managing Director for Technology and Innovation, Roger Morton, commented: “While much of the attention has so far focused on recovering metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel from these vehicles’ high-performance batteries, the quantities of graphite present make finding environmentally friendly and economical ways of recovering this critical material a growing priority.”
This project comes after an initial research collaboration called RECOVAS, which gathered insights from recyclers, academics, engineering and energy specialists, and automotive manufacturers including JLR, BMW, and Bentley to improve the recycling and reuse of electric vehicle cells.
Starting in 2021, RECOVAS used the data collected from the partners to repair and re-engineer existing batteries so that they could be used in new cars, or recycled if remanufacturing was not possible.
In September, EMR opened its first UK-based recycling facility in Birmingham, which has the capacity to handle more than 2,000 tonnes of batteries annually.
Morton added: “As the recent arrival of our new Battery Recycling Centre in Birmingham shows, the era of industrial-scale EV battery recycling is already here but this new industry sprint highlights the huge potential that still exists to develop sustainable new technologies and processes that can improve how we operate.”
