Development of direct recycling processes (BATT4EU Partnership)

Proposals under this topic are expected to focus explicitly on the development, validation, and upscaling of direct recycling technologies targeting next-generation and low-value battery chemistries (notably LFP, LMFP, and sodium-ion), as well as efficiently managing gigafactory production scrap.

Projects are expected to address all the following points:

• Direct recycling processes, validated at relevant environment[[In line with TRL 5, see General Annex B.]] and capable of selectively recovering high-purity active materials from battery electrodes, minimizing processing steps, and preserving material functionality.
• Specific optimization of recycling routes for economically challenging battery chemistries, achieving recovery efficiencies beyond the state-of-the-art
• Innovative approaches for process automation, including intelligent sorting and robotic handling systems, tailored for gigafactory scrap streams, with demonstrated potential to seamlessly integrate into industrial-scale manufacturing facilities.
• Formulation of practical design recommendations based on project findings, to facilitate and optimize direct recycling processes through improved cell design.
• Robust techno-economic analyses demonstrating clear competitive advantages over traditional recycling pathways, complemented by comprehensive life-cycle assessments (LCA) highlighting sustainability benefits in terms of energy savings, CO₂ emission reduction, biodiversity and ecosystems impact, and overall resource efficiency.

The Commission initiative for Safe and Sustainable by Design[[ https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/key-enabling-technologies/chemicals-and-advanced-materials_en]] (SSbD) sets a framework for assessing the safety and sustainability of chemicals and materials which should be considered as a reference for project proposals.

Proposals could consider the involvement of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC)[[ https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/laboratories-z/battery-energy-storage-testing_en]] whose contribution could consist of providing added value regarding various aspects of battery circularity and sustainability. For further information on the JRC’s possible contribution to the projects, please, search for additional publicly available information on the JRC’s website[[JRC NCP | Horizon Europe NCP Portal]] (EU Science Hub) on the NCP portal, or request specific information from the JRC (JRC-NCP-Network@ec.europa.eu)

JRC will assure that all the other applicants receive the same information on the JRC’s possible contribution to the project (e.g. via the topic-specific FAQs under the Funding and Tenders Portal).

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU). As such, projects resulting from this topic will be expected to report on the results to the European Partnership on Batteries (Batt4EU) in support of the monitoring of its KPIs.