Author: Fox

The winners of the Cambridge Independent “Science and Technology Awards” were revealed at a ceremony held on 11th May at the Wellcome Genome Campus in Hinxton. The event is described as “a celebration of the extraordinary talent across a host of science and technology sectors.”

The event began with a networking reception before the awards ceremony in the Francis Crick Auditorium, attended by around 250 business leaders, entrepreneurs and scientists. Editor Paul Brackley, who hosted the event and chaired the judging panel, said: “It was a wonderful evening, full of stories of innovation and ingenuity.”

Ever Resource, which was recognised as “Cleantech Company of the Year”, also received the evening’s IP Prize sponsored by Appleyard Lees LLP. The Cleantech award was sponsored by Woodfines Solicitors. For more information follow this link.

Ever Resource and a Korean University spin-out company have received £650,000 in grants from a European source of funding for research and innovation. The aim of the project is to scale up a novel electrochemical process for the refining of lithium salts from battery black mass.

Our objective is to create a low-cost, flexible option that is compatible with all types of lithium battery recycling practices in use today. The electrolytic cell, due to be scaled up and optimised by Ever Resource, will deliver a drop-in solution for all types of recycling plants that are focusing on cathodic metals but struggling to recover lithium.

We envisage that our solution will also provide a robust option for the recycling of primary lithium cells and future batteries such as lithium sulphur and solid-state lithium.

The beautifully presented hardback book is authored by distinguished academics and award-winning writers. Produced by the History of Parliament Trust – one of the most respected and authoritative research projects in British history – and publisher St. James’ House, the book coincides with the 300th anniversary of the appointment of Britain’s first prime minister (Robert Walpole, 1721) and Her Majesty The Queen’s 95th birthday.

The publication celebrates leadership across the full spectrum of British society – from Parliament and Crown to captains of industry and those pushing the boundaries of innovation. Kevin T. Loman, CEO of iQ Power, and Athan Fox, CEO of Ever Resource, are featured in Prince Charles’ chapters (Volume 2, under the chapter on Sustainability). Ever Resource’s work on lead-acid batteries – the world’s oldest energy storage device – is the main focus of the feature.

The book launches at a special event in Westminster on 22nd September 2021.

Ever Resource, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and Advanced Electronics & Logistics (AEL) have secured £777,000 in grant funding via Innovate UK’s Faraday Battery Challenge (Innovation R&D, Round 4). The project, led by AEL, aims to develop a rapid, low-cost and safe solution for the discharging of electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion battery packs.

The consortium will develop an industry-standard methodology and platform for the deep-discharge of EV battery packs. This will include Battery Management System (BMS) tools that communicate at cell, module and pack level. Our objective is to facilitate deep-discharge across a wide range of pack and battery designs, so as to enable safe and low-cost transportation and recycling of EV battery packs.

The news comes after Ever Resource, Fenix Battery Recycling and the University of Birmingham received significant grant funding to develop innovative separation techniques for the recycling of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. The Faraday Battery Challenge project will complement Ever Resource’s and Fenix’s battery recycling infrastructure by combining generic BMS-bypass software and hardware (brought by AEL) and deep-discharge protocols (brought by WMG).

Fenix Battery Recycling has acquired a 30,000 square foot facility in Kilwinning, Scotland. The site will play an important role in Fenix’s plans to develop facilities for on-site recycling of multiple battery types – expediting the roll-out of recycling innovations developed by Ever Resource and Fenix.

The news comes after Fenix, Ever Resource and the University of Birmingham received significant grant funding to develop an innovative technology for the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. The funding, £955K, from the Government’s Innovate UK Smart Grants programme, is for the development of separation technologies to reduce the environmental impact and improve the efficiency of lithium battery recycling.

Fenix’s new fully licensed and permitted site, at Byrehill Industrial Estate, is ready to accept batteries for storage and discharge. The new facility will play a fundamental role in expanding the company’s infrastructure for battery recycling in the UK and global markets, with material coming from as far away as the USA to be treated by the company.

The surge in electric vehicles has created a need for effective Lithium-Ion battery recycling. A solution is a step closer, as Ever Resource joins forces with Fenix Battery Recycling and Birmingham University to develop innovative new separation systems. The project has been awarded £955K in grant-funding via the highly contested Innovate UK Smart Grants competition.

Emma Kendrick, Professor of Energy Materials at the University of Birmingham and her research group, including Dr Rob Somerville, have invented a process which physically / mechanically separates anode-arisings and cathode-arisings in shredded lithium batteries. Efficiencies greater than 99% have been achieved in the laboratory. By separating the two main component streams physically, all downstream recycling initiatives – including pyro, hydro and electroplating – become cleaner, less wasteful and more economic.

The project is supported by Formula E World Championship, a single-seater motorsport that uses electric cars. The technology will be piloted at Fenix’s Willenhall recycling site, alongside a Lithium-Ion shredding operation of 500 kg per hour.

The Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis, at the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, secured funding for a 1-year Post-Doc to carry out research on the City Oil Field technology. The award, £100,000 GBP, is provided by the EPSRC IAA Partnership Development Award.

The technology, originally imported into the UK by Ever Resource and licensed to Sabien Technology Group PLC, can process mixed end-of-life plastics at low temperatures of 200 – 295 °C. The mixed plastics can include HDPE, LDPE, polystyrene and foams, metallised films and ceramic films – these do not need to be separated, shredded, washed and de-labelled prior to processing. The system can tolerate most impurities including organic waste, oils, metals, glass and more. The products from the process are high-grade fuels (including naphtha and Diesel), and the technology is zero emissions.

Dr Dawid Hanak and Dr Ali Nabavi have secured funds from the EPSRC to carry out research on our lead-acid battery recycling process. The deadline to submit applications is 31 January 2021.

The project theme is “sustainable process engineering.” The successful candidate will work alongside leading researchers at Cranfield to develop a solution for the circular economy of end-of-life lead-acid batteries.

The background to this project is a hydrometallurgical process which was invented by R Vasant Kumar and span out of the University of Cambridge, UK, in 2016. This process enables conversion of end-of-life battery paste into ready-to-use new oxide, with substantial improvements to the environment – including a reduction in the carbon footprint by around 85% and reduction in the waste outputs by more than 90%.

Controlling the thermal combustion of a key intermediate is integral to the process and requires further research and development. We look forward to working with the successful candidate and Cranfield University.

The lead-acid battery is the world’s most successfully recycled commodity product. Its success is mainly due to recyclability and sound economics. However, since the 1880s when the lead battery entered mass production, the industry has adopted a ‘one size fits all’ approach to the lead oxide.

Our objective under this project is to selectively produce nanostructured variants of each oxide phase – litharge, massicot, red lead etc – to improve and to optimise battery performance. Our method, which is scalable to meet market volume, enables control of the crystal structure (phase) which leads to improvements in the energy and power densities, charge acceptance, cycle life and more. This innovation will support the world’s switch to clean energy with storage that does not rely heavily on critical/mined raw materials.

Our project partner is the University of Cambridge, where Dr Vimalnath Selvaraj, Senior Researcher at Ever Resource, will lead research efforts in partnership with Professor Vasant Kumar at the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy. In partnership with iQ Int. AG, a sustainable technologies company that manufactures and distributes highly efficient lead-acid batteries, we will test the nanostructured phase-optimised oxides in commercial batteries.

Fenix Battery Recycling Ltd is the first facility in the UK to offer on-site recycling for all types of batteries. Its first processing line, a state-of-the-art battery shredding and recycling plant in Willenhall, West Midlands, will open its doors in October 2020.

The company will be processing alkaline batteries to produce secondary steel; zinc- and manganese-containing products; paper; and plastic components. In 2021, the technology will be in place to recycle lithium-ion batteries. The same facility will also process all other battery types – including lead-acid and nickel-cadmium batteries.

In partnership with leading Universities in the UK and around the world, Fenix Battery Recycling will support Ever Resource to develop, scale up and commercialise innovative technologies which accelerate our transition to a world without waste. Fenix’s founders – Neil Muttock (Chair), Damian Lambkin (Business Development Director), Miles Freeman (General Manager) and Athan Fox (Technology Director) – are experienced in battery and WEEE collection, recycling, technology and compliance.

To find out more, visit www.fenixenv.com