CAM-EV - Development of new processes to recover critical metals from multi-chemistry, end-of-life EV batteries and convert them into tailored cathode-active materials

到2030年，全球电动汽车（EV）革命每年可能产生超过1100万吨的电池废物，足以每年填满温布利体育场近20次。幸运的是，通过采取循环经济的方法，可以避免这座堆积如山的电池废物。此外，由于对稀缺的关键阴极金属的需求增加，电动汽车电池的价格在2022年十年来首次开始大幅上涨。它们的制造既具有战略重要性，又具有地缘政治敏感性。随着中国主导价值链，俄罗斯是镍和钴的主要来源，电动汽车电池供应链的安全已成为世界各国政府的优先事项。今年7月，他们制定了一份政策文件，确认了一个关键目标，即“加快英国关键矿产的循环经济，增加复苏，此外，研究人员和电动汽车电池制造商已经开始将重点转向对稀缺材料依赖程度较低的电池化学品。例子包括特斯拉的磷酸铁锂（LFP）电池，它仍然依赖于锂，和CATL的（钠）钠离子电池，由于较低的能量密度，目前仍需要与锂离子组合为电动汽车供电。因此，到2050年，处理电池多样化将是电动汽车电池行业的关键，回收方法需要兼容和高效混合的电池废料流 ** CAM-EV -开发新工艺，从多种化学成分的报废EV电池中回收关键金属，并将其转化为定制的阴极活性材料（CAM）。Altilium Metals和伦敦帝国理工学院伦敦化学工程系之间为期24个月的合作研发计划，专注于优化Altilium的新型湿法冶金方法，以处理含有多种寿命终止电池化学物质的黑色物质（即NMC+NCA+LCO+LFP），以回收关键金属，并由此确保高质量，定制阴极活性材料（CAM）。Imperial将在筒仓中测试和鉴定CAM材料，然后将其用于制造电池中的阴极，以进一步进行性能鉴定。此外，该财团将对下一代钠离子电池的加工进行技术和商业可行性评估。

The global electric vehicle (EV) revolution could create more than 11 million tons of battery waste annually by 2030, enough to fill Wembley Stadium almost 20 times every year. Fortunately, this mountain of battery waste can be avoided by taking a circular economy approach.Furthermore, in 2022, for the first time in a decade, prices of EV batteries have started to increase sharply due to increased demand for scarce critical cathode metals. Their manufacture is both strategically important and geopolitically sensitive. With China dominating the value chain and Russia a leading source of nickel and cobalt, the security of an EV battery supply chain has become a priority for governments around the world.In January 2022, UK BEIS established the Critical Minerals Expert Committee; in July, they produced a policy paper that confirmed a key objective as being "accelerating a circular economy of critical minerals in the UK, increasing recovery, reuse, and recycling rates and resource efficiency, to alleviate pressure on primary supply".In addition, researchers alongside battery EV manufacturers have started to switch their focus to battery chemistries that are less reliant on scare materials. Examples include Tesla with lithium ferrophosphate (LFP) batteries, which are still reliant on lithium, and CATL with (Sodium) Na-ion batteries, which, due to inferior energy density, currently would still need to be combined with Li-ion to power an electric vehicle.Therefore, handling battery diversification is going to be key in the EV battery industry up until 2050 and recycling methods would need to be compatible and efficient with mixed streams of battery waste.**CAM-EV - Development of new processes to recover critical metals from multi-chemistry, end-of-life EV batteries and convert them into tailored cathode-active materials (CAM).**This 24-month collaborative R&D programme between Altilium Metals and Imperial College London's Department of Chemical Engineering, is focussed on optimising Altilium's novel hydrometallurgical method to process black mass containing multiple end-of-life battery chemistries (i.e. NMC+NCA+LCO+LFP) to recover the critical metals and, from which, ensure the consistent production of a high-quality, tailored cathode-active material (CAM).Imperial will test and qualify the CAM material in silo, before using it to manufacture cathodes in battery cells for further performance qualification. Furthermore, the consortium will perform a technical and commercial viability assessment regarding the processing of next-generation sodium ion batteries.