(The long awaited) August issue of Black Mass Recycling News

The summer is over, and the buzz around black mass recycling together with its related technologies and business cases keeps on growing. Here we have listed some of that buzz for you (you're welcome).

Taiwan is building it's first recycling plant for lithium-ion batteries - and why that is big news

The 1,500-square-meter recycling facility established by UWin Resource Regeneration represents a pivotal step towards realizing a circular economy by addressing the mounting challenge of LIB waste. The plant is designed to recycle various types of LIBs, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries.

The initiative is crucial due to the escalating volume of discarded EV batteries in Taiwan, which has risen substantially in recent years and is projected to surge even further in the coming decades. UWin Resource Regeneration's innovative approach involves a green-chemistry technique for discharging batteries, mitigating fire risks, and employing hydrometallurgy to extract valuable metals from the "black mass" waste, while ensuring eco-friendly practices.

The facility's processes and methods have the potential to significantly contribute to a more sustainable approach to battery recycling, aligning with global trends in circular economy efforts and reducing the environmental footprint of electric vehicles.

Read the whole article in https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2023/06/28/2003802294

What is going on? Even the big consultancies are now publishing reports about Black Mass Recycling

Who would've thought three years back from now, black mass recycling would merit the attention and exposure in the large consultancy publications? Not us for sure! Yet there it is, the trend report of Fastmarkets.

The Fastmarkets article is the first comprehensive overview that we've seen of the key trends in the battery recycling market.The article lists six "trends", perhaps better described as fundamental elements of Black Mass Recycling. The article talks about the most sought-after variants of black mass, namely lithium cobalt (LCO) and nickel cobalt manganese (NCM), which house valuable battery metals. It delves into the diverse methods of refining black mass, including the emerging realm of electrochemical refining.

The piece underscores the escalating demand for lithium-ion batteries and the imperative need for recycling to supplement primary metal production. Moreover, it explores the current and projected percentages of recycled secondary metal production, as well as the shift from production scrap to end-of-life (EoL) batteries as the primary source of scrap.

The article also touches upon the concept of second life or cascade utilization of EV batteries, along with the potential safety concerns associated with it. Overall, it offers insightful perspectives on the battery recycling market and its pivotal role in attaining a more sustainable future for EVs and energy storage systems.

You can access the article, written based on the actual report, here: https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/six-key-trends-battery-recycling-market

Will direct recycling of cathode black mass save us?

While direct recycling holds great promise in converting this waste to wealth, its implementation has been often limited to lab-scale due to the lack of robustness and the use of toxic organic solvents in some of the pretreatment process. However, article from Advanced Energy Metals (Volume 13, Issue 6,February 10, 2023) presents a breakthrough process that integrates the pretreatment and relithiation of cathode black mass, offering a scalable and universal solution.

The research team consisting of Varun Gupta,?Xiaolu Yu,?Hongpeng Gao,?Christopher Brooks,?Weikang Li and Zheng Chen argue that by treating cathode material from EoL electric vehicle (EV) batteries in a 100 g per batch operation, the regenerated cathode active material achieves 100% electrochemical performance recovery with a 91% yield rate. This significant advancement paves the way for direct recycling to move from the lab to industry scale, bringing considerable profitability and contributing to a more sustainable future for LIBs and energy storage systems.

Thats all for now. Next issue of The Black Recycling Newsletter comes out during the Autumn.

Meanwhile, go ahead and join our private group on black mass recycling, and stay constantly updated regarding the ins and outs of the Black Mass Recycling indsutry!