A new EV battery recycling plant in Alabama from Li-Cycle has just come online. It can process up to 10,000 tons of battery waste per year, enough for about 20,000 EVs per year, and helps the US move toward a zero-emission economy.
Li-Cycle’s processing method is specifically designed as a two-part system recycling battery manufacturing scrap and turns end-of-life batteries into a black mass. The black mass is then processed and used to generate battery minerals such as nickel sulfate, lithium carbonate, and cobalt sulfate, three of the most critical factors for EV batteries. According to the battery recycling company, Li-Cycle believes its new method will enable up to a 95% efficiency rate compared to the industry average of 50%.
More importantly, Li-Cycle’s processing method creates a safe way of recycling lithium-ion batteries without any landfill waste while reducing carbon emissions.
Source: Electrek: Read The Article
PSR Analysis: As automakers are moving swiftly to lock up critical battery materials, the world needs much more lithium to meet demand. Demand is expected to exceed 11.2m tons of lithium per year by 2050. With battery recycling technology advancing, and investment starting to flow, plants like these will help ease this transition to electric vehicles, but if this emerging trend doesn’t continue, there is little prospect of meeting lithium demand. PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Lead at Power Systems Research
