Lithium and Graphite Recovery from Lithium-Ion Batteries (LaGReLiB)

该项目将提供能够完全回收锂离子电池的技术；由于锂和石墨的损失，目前无法实现这一点。这一成功的项目将使英国走在锂离子电池回收的前沿。目前估计，到2030年，全球汽车行业锂离子电池的使用量为2100万辆，其中英国高达200万辆；国际货币基金组织预测，到2042年，电动汽车的使用量将达到90%(高于交通部目前的预测)。英国没有锂离子电池回收设施，电池出口到欧洲的里程数(燃料、碳排放、时间)、就业和特殊运输要求(锂电池被归类为联合国第9类危险货物)成本高昂；英国退欧后欧洲设施的可用性也带有问号。该项目的成功实施将减少温室气体排放，并为英国回收部门创造就业机会。该工厂的设计将灵活地适应未来的电池开发，不仅是锂离子电池，还有其他电池，使回收技术能够继续发展。可以利用试点工厂固有的灵活性来优化其他湿法冶金工艺(例如，一次提取、WEEE回收、从遗迹中回收材料、从炼钢污泥中回收锌)。材料处理研究所是举办这一设施的理想场所，因为它有开放获取研究的条款。由于在英国没有已知的湿法冶金试验工厂，这将展示湿法冶金的发展，创建一个在英国范围内的设施，在项目完成后提供多年的投资回报。Inproc有限公司和康尼什锂有限公司将加入该项目。Inproc将帮助将剩余材料整合到火法冶金路线中，帮助进行中试工厂规格和技术开发，并将进行熔体试验，以确认完整的回收工艺路线。康尼什锂将在湿法冶金技术、中试工厂规范和扩大中试工厂研究方面进行合作；从中试工厂研究中获得的知识预计将有助于通过对环境负责的生产技术加快英国主要来源锂的商业生产。通过将这些创新应用于锂离子电池回收和锂一次提取，英国将同时发展回收和一次提取行业，确保汽车行业和他们的就业岗位的锂供应，并使英国回收行业现代化，创造就业机会，并加快英国锂提取行业和相关就业的增长。

This project will deliver technology capable of the full recycling of lithium-ion batteries; currently this is unavailable due to lithium and graphite losses. The successful project will put the UK at the forefront of lithium-ion battery recycling. The current estimated usage of lithium-ion batteries for the automotive industry is 21 million by 2030 globally, including up to 2 million in the UK; IMF predicts 90% electric vehicles by 2042 (higher than current Department of Transport predictions). The UK has no lithium-ion battery recycling facilities, with batteries exported to Europe at great cost in terms of miles traveled (fuel, carbon emissions, time), jobs and special transport requirements (lithium batteries are classified under UN category 9 as dangerous goods); also with question marks on the usability of European facilities post Brexit. Successful implementation of the project will decrease greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs in the UK recycling sector. The plant will be designed to be flexible for future battery developments, not only lithium-ion but others, enabling the continued evolution of recycling technology. The built-in flexibility of the pilot plant could be exploited to optimise other hydrometallurgy processes, (e.g. primary extraction, WEEE recycling, materials recovery from legacy sites, Zinc recovery from steelmaking sludge). The Materials Processing Institute is ideally placed to hold this facility due to it open access research provisions. With no known hydrometallurgy pilot plant within the UK this will be showcase development in hydrometallurgy, creating a UK wide facility that provides return on investment for many years after the project has been completed. This project will be joined by Inprotec Ltd and Cornish Lithium Ltd. Inprotec will help the integration into the pyrometallurgy routes of the remaining materials, helping with pilot plant specification and technology development, trials melts will be carried out to confirm the full recycling process route. Cornish Lithium will collaborate over hydrometallurgy techniques, pilot plant specification and scale up studies on the pilot plant; the knowledge gained from the pilot plant studies is expected to help expedite commercial production of lithium from UK primary sources via environmentally responsible production techniques. By applying these innovations to lithium-ion battery recycling and lithium primary extraction, the UK will develop both recycling and primary extraction industries, securing lithium supplies for the automotive sector and their jobs, as well as modernising the UK recycling industry creating jobs and accelerate the growth in the UK lithium extraction industry and the associated jobs.