U.S. Initiative Seeks New Technologies to Boost Li-Ion Battery Recycling

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The U.S. government announced an ambitious three-year research and development project aimed at developing new technologies to recycle lithium-ion batteries from various sources including electric vehicles, cellphones etc..

According to Department of Energy officials, the $15 million project will be carried out at the Argonne National Laboratory, Chicago. The project, collaboration between Argonne, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and several universities, is an attempt to equip the country to compete with countries like China who are the leaders in manufacture and recycling of lithium-ion batteries.

Daniel R. Simmons, assistant secretary of the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy stated that the dependence on other countries for critical metals such as lithium, cobalt, graphite etc., undermines the country’s national security, because many of the source countries are not the closest allies of the country.

The projected near-term rise in demand for lithium-ion batteries has also prompted the country to explore ways to recycle them domestically. The production of electric vehicles is expected to see dramatic rise over the next decade. With existing electric vehicles almost nearing the end of their useful life, there will be huge domestic recycling demand for Li-Ion batteries within the U.S.

The country is likely to run out of materials, if recycling is not promoted. Recycled materials are likely to boost domestic production of batteries and other finished products.