STTR Phase I: A Direct Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Process Yielding Battery-Grade Cathode Materials

该小型企业技术转让第一阶段项目推进了一种具有成本效益和可扩展的直接回收方法，用于从报废（EOL）锂离子电池中生产电池级正极材料。拟议的直接锂离子电池回收技术的商业化将降低与电池生产相关的能源消耗和排放，减少对原电池材料的需求，并降低锂离子电池的制造成本。使用直接回收的材料代替电池原材料将减少甚至避免采矿和加工矿石以及处置危险废物对环境的负面影响。降低电池成本将促进更高效的电动汽车的实施，从而减少石油需求和汽车排放。最后，对寿命终止的锂离子电池阴极、直接回收过程和回收材料的研究将促进对非水和水介质中的嵌入化学以及电化学循环期间电极降解的理解。该项目的智力价值是通过设计和演示能够进行非破坏性再锂化的可扩展电化学流动系统以及优化回收材料的后处理操作来推进直接回收技术。电化学流动系统能够在任何荷电状态（SOC）下恢复EOL阴极材料中损失的锂，并且可以按比例缩放到商业上可行的尺寸。在所提出的直接再循环工艺中回收的阴极材料保持相同的结构和形态，并表现出与商业原生阴极材料相当的电化学性能。高价值阴极材料的回收大大提高了锂离子电池回收的盈利能力，是商业计划的一个关键要素。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project advances a cost-effective and scalable direct recycling method for producing battery-grade cathode materials from end-of-life (EOL) lithium-ion batteries. The commercialization of the proposed direct lithium-ion battery recycling technology will lower the energy consumption and emissions associated with battery production, reduce demand for raw battery materials and decrease lithium-ion battery manufacturing cost. Using directly recycled materials instead of raw battery materials will diminish or even avoid the negative environmental impacts from mining and processing ores and from disposal of hazardous waste. Reducing battery cost will facilitate the implementation of more efficient electrified vehicles, thus reducing petroleum demand and vehicle emissions. Finally, research on the end-of-life lithium-ion battery cathode, on the direct recycling process and on the recycled materials will advance the understanding of intercalation chemistry in nonaqueous and aqueous media and of electrode degradation during electrochemical cycling. The intellectual merit of this project is to advance the direct recycling technology through the design and demonstration of a scalable electrochemical flow system capable of non-destructive relithiation and the optimization of post treatment operation for the recovered materials. The electrochemical flow system is capable of restoring the lost lithium in the EOL cathode material at any state of charge (SOC) and can be scaled to a commercially viable size. The cathode materials recovered in the proposed direct recycling process retain the same structure and morphology and exhibit equivalent electrochemical performance compared to the commercial virgin cathode materials. The recovery of high-value cathode materials substantially improves the profitability of lithium-ion battery recycling and is a key element of the business plan.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.