Ecograf, the Australian battery anode company, announced positive graphite cycling stability results from research done by the German Helmholtz Institute. It could decrease the overall carbon footprint from graphite, it said.
The study focused on the recovery and purification of graphite from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries, encompassing a mix of NMC and LCO battery chemistries. Through froth flotation, graphite was successfully recovered from the black mass. The resulting concentrate underwent purification using Ecograf HF free technology.
Ecograf said the electrochemical performance of recovered graphite matched that of the brand-new commercial anode graphite. It found the structure and morphology of the recycled graphite were essentially unchanged.
Recycled graphite provides a remarkable reversible specific capacity of more than 350mAh/g. Newly assembled recycled graphite and Li[Ni0.5Mn0.3Co0.2]O2 (NMC532) cathode cells show an excellent cycling stability with a capacity retention of 80% after 1000 cycles. This is comparable to reference full-cells from pristine commercial graphite, it said.
Ecograf blends recycled graphite with high-quality Tanzanian flake graphite for manufacturing anodes. This advances sustainable battery solutions and high performance in lithium-ion cells. It also follows the recently announced collaboration with German BASF on anode recycling which sets out a framework for Ecograf to support BASF’s recycling R&D in Europe with its recycling capability.
The company is scheduled to commission the world’s first HF free battery anode material product qualification facility in Western Australia.