HydrometallurgyĪ common hydrometallurgical process for EV batteries is leaching, which is the process of soaking lithium-ion cells in strong acids to dissolve the metals into a solution. There is a technique that avoids fossil fuel use by taking the residual energy in the batteries, such as the organics in the electrolyte, to power the conversion process. Research into recovering lithium through the condensation of smelter off-gas, however, is currently underway. It also causes lithium and aluminium to be lost, making it a far from ideal way to recycle electric car batteries. This process involves burning EV batteries at high temperatures to remove any unwanted plastics or organic matter, and results in only a fraction of the original material being recovered – usually just the copper, nickel or cobalt.Ī common pyrometallurgical process for EV batteries is smelting, which is simple but also not very ecologically friendly as the process requires the use of pollution-causing fossil fuels. How are lithium ion batteries recycled? Pyrometallurgy
There are currently two main techniques available in regards to how to dispose of lithium-ion batteries and engage in EV battery recycling. If you’ve got a Tesla or a Nissan Leaf, battery recycling may be something you’ll one day want to consider. Although the infrastructure to support the mass disposing of lithium batteries and then eventual lithium battery recycling isn’t quite in place yet, there are start-ups that have popped up to deal with this emerging issue.Īnother problem is that EV batteries are designed to be cheap and long-lasting, with potential recycling of their materials currently not factored into their production, making recycling the batteries somewhat tricky.