Battery Materials R&D Centre of Excellence, Tees Valley: Testing and selecting an innovative, low-carbon, lithium pyrometallurgy solution for deployment

电池材料研究

• 批准号: 10074864
• 金额: $ 71.29万
• 依托单位: GREEN LITHIUM REFINING LIMITED
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Launchpad
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10074864
• 关键词: Battery; Materials; R&D; Centre; Excellence

Comprising two local collaborators, the consortium will build upon existing proof-of-concept work undertaken by the project lead:* **Green Lithium** (lead): Teesside-based emerging expert in the lithium-ion battery supply chain, with extensive lithium processing design/testing experience from its full-scale lithium plant (Full-Scale Plant).* **Materials Processing Institute** (MPI) (collaborator): Middlesbrough-based, world-leading minerals processing research body, experienced in thermal processes on minerals, providing expertise and physical trial facilities provision.**Market opportunity**The fast-growing battery-electric vehicle (EV) and storage industries demand battery production upscales rapidly. Battery supply chains include cathode-active-material (CAM) manufacturers, cathode manufacturers, battery manufacturers (gigafactories) and automotive original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which must secure upstream lithium chemical supplies.The UK/EU currently depend on Chinese refined lithium chemical imports, driving major price/volume uncertainty. Onshore lithium refining is essential to meet the c.800,000tonne-per-annum (tpa) European 2030 demand from EVs, with unforecasted demand from energy-storage \[_source:BechmarkMineralIntelligence,2022_\].**Significance**Helping retain first-mover advantage, Green Lithium plans to build the world's first scale-up lithium plant in Teesside (Scale-Up Plant), deploying the alkali-leach hydrometallurgy process for lithium hydroxide monohydrate production.Preparing raw material for hydrometallurgy requires decrepitation of lithium-bearing mineral alpha-spodumene concentrate (spodumene) to beta-spodumene through calcination, an energy-intensive pyrometallurgy process where spodumene is heated to high temperature and circulated to achieve consistent thermal-energy penetration.Based on Green Lithium's previous life-cycle assessment (LCA), low-energy, clean-energy calcining can lead to a 41% reduction in carbon emissions \[_source:Minviro,2022_\] \[_see:Q4-Appendix_\]. Green Lithium's goal is to produce carbon-net-zero lithium. That is only achievable through deployment of electrified or hydrogen-enabled pyrometallurgy processes, which do not exist at scale today.**Innovation**Green Lithium's Scale-Up Plant process flowsheet already has clearly defined second-stage 'alkali-leach' hydrometallurgy and third-stage crystallisation requirements.However, its first-stage pyrometallurgy has greater optionality, with various potentially low-carbon options available. These remain untested ahead of selection. This project therefore accelerates Green Lithium's Scale-Up Plant development by testing which low-carbon pyrometallurgy equipment should be deployed to target net-zero emissions and meet lithium production requirements, namely second-stage hydrometallurgy input requirements.Competitors have not sought to deploy lithium scale-up plants; this project will help keep UK-based Green Lithium ahead of international competition by enabling development of its world-first Scale-Up Plant.**Outcome**This 12-month industrial research project, leading to key Scale-Up Plant pyrometallurgy equipment selection and process design, will drive significant export and profitability growth over a 5-year launch period, stimulating substantive Scale-Up Plant-specific revenues (£46.0m), UK R&D investment (£3.4m), and 13.0 new FTEs operating the plant.

该联盟由两个当地合作者组成，将建立在项目负责人进行的现有概念验证工作的基础上：* 绿色锂 **（牵头）：位于提赛德的锂离子电池供应链新兴专家，在其全规模锂工厂（Full-Scale Plant）中拥有丰富的锂加工设计/测试经验。** 材料加工研究所 **（MPI）（合作者）：位于米德尔斯伯勒的世界领先的矿物加工研究机构，在矿物热加工方面经验丰富，提供专业知识和实物试验设施。市场机会 ** 快速增长的电动汽车（EV）和储能行业要求电池生产迅速升级。电池供应链包括阴极活性材料（CAM）制造商、阴极制造商、电池制造商（gigafactory）和汽车原始设备制造商（OEM），这些制造商必须确保上游锂化学品的供应。英国/欧盟目前依赖中国精炼锂化学品进口，这导致了主要的价格/数量不确定性。陆上锂精炼对于满足欧洲2030年电动汽车约80万吨/年（tpa）的需求至关重要，其中储能需求不可预测[_source：BechmarkMineralIntelligence，2022_\]。意义 ** 为了保持先发优势，绿色锂计划在蒂赛德建造世界上第一个扩大规模的锂工厂（放大工厂），采用碱浸湿法冶金工艺生产一水氢氧化锂。湿法冶金原料的制备需要对含锂矿物α-锂辉石精矿进行爆裂（锂辉石）通过煅烧转化为β-锂辉石，锂辉石是一种能源密集型的火法冶金工艺，锂辉石被加热到高温并循环以实现一致的热能渗透。基于绿色锂的以前的生活-循环评估（LCA），低能耗、清洁能源煅烧可以减少41%的碳排放\[_source：Minviro，2022_\] \[_see：Q4-Appendix_\]。绿色锂的目标是生产碳净零锂。这只能通过部署电气化或氢激活的火法冶金工艺来实现，而这些工艺目前还不存在。Innovation** 绿色锂业放大工厂的工艺流程已经明确规定了第二阶段“碱浸”湿法冶金和第三阶段结晶的要求。然而，其第一阶段火法冶金具有更大的可选择性，提供各种潜在的低碳选择。这些在选择之前还没有经过测试。因此，该项目通过测试应部署哪些低碳火法冶金设备以实现净零排放并满足锂生产要求（即第二阶段湿法冶金输入要求），加速了绿色锂的规模化工厂开发。该项目将帮助英国绿色锂公司在国际竞争中保持领先地位，使其能够开发世界上第一个规模化工厂。**成果 ** 这个为期12个月的工业研究项目将导致关键的扩大规模工厂火法冶金设备选择和工艺设计，将在5年的启动期内推动出口和盈利能力的显著增长，刺激实质性的扩大规模工厂特定收入（4600万英镑），英国研发投资（340万英镑）和13.0个新的全职员工运营工厂。