Flexible, Safe and efficient REcycling of Li-ion batterieS for a comPetitive, circular, and sustainable European battery manufaCTuring industry

Project Information

RESPECT

Grant agreement ID: 101069865

DOI

10.3030/101069865

EC signature date 8 June 2022

Start date 1 July 2022

End date 30 June 2026

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 8 906 936,00

EU contribution

€ 8 906 936,00

Coordinated by

ORANO MINING
France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - RESPECT (Flexible, Safe and efficient REcycling of Li-ion batterieS for a comPetitive, circular, and sustainable European battery manufaCTuring industry)

Reporting period: 2023-11-01 to 2025-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The RESPECT project aims at transforming the batteries’ recycling process and at opening new sustainable and circular markets in Europe along the Li-ion batteries value chain, thus reinforcing security of supply and its strategic autonomy. RESPECT process considers the variability of Li-ion batteries chemistries (NMC, LFP, NCA, LMO), states (aged, damaged, EoL, scraps) and applications (EV, Energy Storage System [ESS]). The holistic approach covers all Li-ion recycling value chain from logistics, sorting and classification of the feedstock, to the design and integration of new recycling unit processes that aim at recovering the highest amount of resources present within Li-ion batteries. It proposes a logical chain of disruptive, flexible, sustainable and versatile recycling processes considering safety aspects for opening and deactivation and addressing full hydrometallurgy or direct recycling, depending on the targeted Li-ion batteries to be treated, supporting the development of the next generation of batteries materials.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

WP1 – Battery supply & Deactivation
• Guidelines for safe and efficient logistics of EOL batteries and scraps were completed by CEVA (GEFCO SA).
• Demonstration of deactivation process on EV battery cell provided by MORROW has been demonstrated by CEA.
• The influence of parallel circuits on deactivation kinetics was studied by CEA.

WP2 – Pre-treatment for materials concentrations: cutting and separation technologies
• Commissioning of pilot equipment for T2.1 at CEA and successful demonstration of active material extraction from Telsa, BMWi3, VW Passat and Porsche Taycan modules.
• Pilot equipment ordered by KYBURZ for T2.1.
• Successful demonstration of graphite recovery > 99% from anode scraps (T2.2).
• PoC of Li extraction with ELIP technology with more than 60% Li recovery (T2.3).
• Successful solubilisation of PVDF in NMP & Screening of alternative solvents (T2.4).

WP3 – Innovative and low environmental impact Hydrometallurgy
• Use of a DoE statistical model to help determine parameters needed for scaling up of hydrometallurgical black mass treatment.
• Successful demonstration of selected hydrometallurgical parameters for the Pilot Scale (>150 kg) treatment of industrially supplied NMC 9.5.5 black mass materials.
• Production of high purity Mn/Co/Ni sulphates (>99+%) on pilot scale by SX from demonstration PLS (300 l).

WP4 – Direct recycling & Active Materials synthesis and test (incl. cells manufacturing)
• First experiments with recycled precursors and first recycled synthesised materials batches sent to CIDETEC for processes validation.

WP5 – Impacts on health, environment, safety and circular economy: new practices related to developed processes
• Model of the hydrometallurgical black mass recycling process developed using the simulation software.
• Full definition of 36 baseline scenarios (current EoL routes for Li-batteries).
• Environmental, economic and social life cycle inventories and impact assessment for the baseline scenarios completed.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

In the context of WP1's work, the deactivation technology developed by CEA and Orano appears extremely promising. No other technology in the world is capable of safely discharging Li-ion batteries at such a rate. This technology was largely patented prior to the project and discussions between CEA and Orano on the strategic development of the technology are ongoing.

A second result, which goes beyond the state of the art, is the pilot plant developed by Coup'Indus and operated by CEA for cutting modules and extracting electrodes. The versatility of the technology has been demonstrated for all cell designs available on the market, which shows its versatility. In this respect, the approach developed differs greatly from state of the art, where the active materials are obtained by shredding. In the developed approach, there is no mixing of the active materials with the battery casing. A patent application has been filed for the technology.

The third result, which goes beyond the state of the art, is Vianode's demonstration that recycled graphite can have similar performance to battery grade graphite. This was demonstrated by Vianode for both graphite from anode waste and for EoL batteries at button cell level. This result is extremely promising as there is no closed loop recycling of graphite in Europe today.