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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

Dr Athan Fox, CEO of Ever Resource Ltd, will participate in Trans-Global Events’ “Plastic Free World” conference as an invited speaker on 09 and 10 Nov 2020. Dr Fox’s presentation will be focusing on the City Oil Field technology – a commercially available system capable of processing mixed plastics (including LDPE, HDPE, polystyrene and foams, metallised and ceramic films, and more) in one pot without front-end separation, cutting, shredding, washing, de-labeling etc. The technology, invented by City Oil Field in South Korea, is proven at scales of up to 120 tonnes per module per day and is commercially available via City Oil Field and Ever Resource Ltd.

Cyanobacteria, otherwise known as “blue-green algae”, commonly obtain their energy from oxygenic photosynthesis. This means they convert sunlight into chemical energy, splitting water to liberate oxygen and fixing carbon dioxide into sugar. Cyanetics Ltd, an innovative biotechnology company based in Stevenage, UK, exploits this process to manufacture “products from pollution” – by converting carbon dioxide into chemicals useful for industry. Our proof of concept project, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is a collaboration with The University of Nottingham and involves synthesis of citric acid from modified cyanobacteria. The naturally-produced citric acid will be used in industry to recycle lead-acid battery paste via our innovative technology, REGENERATE.