At present the recovery of battery metals generally follows a long established process of shipping/transporting ´scrap´ to massive high capital expenditure centralised recycling plants which use a huge amount of fossil fuel energy. This fossil fuel energy when added to the fossil fuel energies used in the scrap transportation often around the globe often using massively polluting shipping bunker fuels makes the materials recovery process highly undesirable in pollutants as well as being costly.
A process from a company called Nth Cycle changes this supply chain model using a low energy chemical process for the extraction of lithium, nickel and cobalt (and other materials) from EV, Phone, PC and other batteries. This process is done regionally and locally even at a scrap yard level. Or it can provide an alternative to replacing existing massive processing plants. The mission of Nth Power is to keep critical materials in circulation for ever.
Rob Llewellyn (Everything Electric), talks with Dr. Megan O´Conner CEO of Nth Cycle about their technology, its applications and whether it provides true potential of the ´holy grail´ of a circular economy. CLICK HERE to go to the podcast. (30 mins You Tube Podcast).
I recall a environmentalists wish that by 2050 the only mining be of existing landfill sites to recycle their contents. A positive if wishful aspiration to keep pushing !
I´m also personally hearing more and more about the repurposing of EV batteries for use in Static Storage as the remaining charge and discharge qualities of the old EV batteries are sufficient to meet these static storage applications requirements. I think this is a great idea and will catch on. This may though cause a delay in the availability of batteries for recycling.
Another interesting point that came out in the podcast is the use of Cobalt by existing fossil fuel refineries in the processing of certain petroleum products. So when you hear the lobbyists talking about human rights of Cobalt miners, including the use of children, an important situation to fix, just quietly mention the many decades of Cobalt use by big oil refineries who have done nothing much in the past to resolve this problem.
I also note that battery chemistry is reducing cobalt (in the nickel/cobalt mix) reducing cobalt demand as well as a significant emergence of totally new battery chemistries coming our way without cobalt.
Another barrier to entry and uptake has been overcome by Nth Power in they offer to install their equipment and technology at no or minimal cost to the scrap yard owner and be paid by a share in the value of the recycled materials. How good is that!
Nth Cycle Web Site HERE
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