Farasis Energy validates sustainable direct recycling process for lithium-ion batteries.
Reduction of waste and conservation of resources through recovery and reuse of valuable lithium-ion battery materials from used batteries and waste from cell production for new production – while maintaining the same cell performance and increased sustainability
For more than 10 years, Farasis Energy has been a pioneer in the research and development of a direct recycling process for used lithium-ion batteries. The recycling process allows the direct recovery and reuse of valuable materials from these batteries as well as from the pulp of cell production; this is mainly about the cathode material.
Through the direct recovery of the active cathode material, the high value of the originally manufactured cathode material – one of the most expensive components in cell production – is maintained without the need for re-production.
This leads to both cost and energy savings and can increase the efficiency of cathode utilization to over 99 percent when applied to cell production waste. The application of Farasis’ direct recycling process will make the production of lithium-ion cells significantly more environmentally friendly and sustainable.
Direct recycling of lithium-ion batteries is a unique recycling process that preserves the crystal structure of the cathode material, allowing for cost- and energy-saving reuse of the material. Now Farasis has been able to prove that recycled cathode material can be recovered from used cells or production waste and integrated into new cells.
Specifically, Farasis has demonstrated that cells containing up to 25 percent recycled cathode material can perform equivalent to cells made from exclusively new cathode material.
The direct recycling process thus makes it possible to significantly reduce the use and amount of new active cathode material without compromising the performance of the newly manufactured batteries. At the same time, it contributes to a more environmentally friendly and sustainable method of cell production and reduces the overall CO2 footprint.
Dr. Keith Kepler, CTO and co-founder of Farasis, said:
Our goal is to develop a closed value chain of the battery throughout its entire life cycle, from design to end-of-life management.
“We have come a good deal closer to this claim with the validation of our direct recycling process.”
More than 10 years of research and development in battery recycling
Farasis Energy is a pioneer in research and development for the direct recycling of lithium-ion batteries.
As a leading supplier of innovative lithium-ion battery technology and pouch cells for electromobility, Farasis has been working for more than 10 years to make the production of lithium-ion batteries more environmentally friendly and sustainable.
Recent advances in the development of its direct recycling process have enabled Farasis to recover its most valuable active materials from cells, batteries and production waste in a highly efficient, economical manner.
As part of the development of the recycling technology, Farasis has already filed two U.S. patents and has secured various public research grants, including a $1.76 million grant project awarded by the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC).
Use of recycled cathode material in electric car batteries
Modern batteries for electric cars often contain high proportions of the transition metal oxide NCM in the cathode, with “NCM” being an abbreviation for the metals nickel, cobalt and manganese contained therein.
When recycling NCM from production waste or from old batteries, commercial reprocessors are currently focusing either on melting at high temperatures (pyrometallurgy) or on the chemical dissolution (hydrometallurgy) of the carefully developed cathode material, thus recovering only the individual metals.
These recycling techniques are energy-intensive and have a significant negative impact on the environment. The direct recycling process, on the other hand, allows the direct and complete recovery of the high-quality cathode material in its original chemical and physical composition while preserving the crystal structure.
Thanks for staying up to date with batteriesnews.com. This means that the active material for cathodes is recovered intact and can be used directly for the production of new lithium-ion cells – without any loss of performance.
Farasis’ environmentally friendly direct recycling process eliminates the cost- and energy-intensive resynthesis of the cathode material from its basic components.
High demands on electrochemical excellence
In developing its direct recycling process, Farasis Energy has paid particular attention to the performance of the recycled cathode material.
This is because the production of new lithium-ion cells using active cathode material from used cells requires that the properties and performance of cells containing recycled cathode material are comparable to those of cells made of exclusively new material.
Now, Farasis has shown that up to 25 percent recycled cathode material can be used in new lithium-ion cells without significantly impacting performance. Internal testing and external validation of 2Ah sample cells by a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory have shown that even after 600 charge and discharge cycles, the performance of cells with recycled cathode material is comparable to that of their counterparts made of exclusively new cathode material.
The next step will be to validate the industrialization of the cathode recycling process on a large scale. With the clear goal of getting involved in the recycling of cathode electrode rejects from cell production as quickly as possible.
About Farasis Energy
Farasis Energy is a developer and producer of high-performance lithium-ion battery technology as well as pouch cells for electromobility and other power storage applications. Founded in California in 2002, the company now operates research and development centers in China, Germany and the USA.
There are currently two production facilities in Ganzhou and Zhenjiang (China) with a current total capacity of 21 GWh/a. A third production facility with a targeted capacity of 24 GWh/a is currently being built in Wuhu (China).
A fourth production facility is being set up as a joint venture with Togg in Gemlik, Turkey. In addition to Togg, Farasis Energy’s major strategic partners include companies such as Daimler and Geely.
Farasis Energy validates sustainable direct recycling process for lithium-ion batteries, April 26, 2022
