Battery recycling firm Ascend Elements and Koura, an Orbia business that produces fluoroproducts, have launched a recycling method to recover battery-grade graphite material from spent lithium-ion batteries.
Orbia is serving as a development partner to Ascend to scale the company’s Hydro-to-Anode technology for commercial production.
The firm claims the chemical process recovers 99.9% pure graphite from black mass that has an energy capacity and cycle life on par with virgin battery-grade graphite anode material— although the numbers behind the claim were not released.
In parallel, the firm’s Hydro-to-Cathode technology recovers the nickel, cobalt, lithium and manganese for cathode production.
The firm also recovers plastics, aluminium, and copper during the recycling processes.
An Ascend spokesman told BEST: “This is the first commercialisation of a battery-grade graphite recovery process that we are aware of.
“Traditional lithium-ion battery recycling processes typically destroy the graphite during the smelting process or are unable to bring it to battery-grade purity.”
According to U.S. Executive Order 13953, high-purity graphite is included on the US critical minerals list— as is lithium and cobalt.
To lessen reliance on foreign entities, US material manufacturing and recycling companies are charged with making this mineral more available within the North American supply chain.
Ascend is producing battery-grade graphite in its facility located in Westborough, Massachusetts.
From 2016-2019, the vast majority of the lithium imported to the US came from Argentina (55%) and Chile (36%).
In terms of US net import reliance, 100% of graphite and manganese was imported, 76% of cobalt was imported, and about 50% of lithium and nickel was imported in 2020.
Battery recycling technology
Earlier this month, Ascend announced the first commercial sale of cathode active materials made using materials from its Hydro-to-Cathode recycling technology.
Energy storage firm Navitas Systems secured a supply of cathode active material made from recycled batteries for use in a US Department of Defense project.
The deal to reduce the US military’s reliance on imported lithium-ion batteries will see recycled materials used to make cells for hybrid vehicle and other military equipment applications.
1Ah cells using the recycled LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 material reached 4,200 cycles and 11,600 cycles at 80% and 70% capacity retention; meanwhile, its rate performance is 88.6% better than commercial powders at 5C.
