Cathode-Healing for Recycling and Manufacturing of Lithium-ion Batteries
OnTo Technology LLC
Recipient
Bend, OR
Recipient Location
$295,010
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
OnTo demonstrated its cathode healing™ technology to recover used lithium-ion battery (LIB) cathode active materials (CAMs) from nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistries. The used batteries were sourced from California-based industrial scrap yards that process end-of-life hybrid electric vehicles. The recovered CAMs demonstrated consistent and promising performance in cells made by a US-based, third-party manufacturer, Saft America. This effort demonstrates the readiness of advanced manufacturing and recycling techniques and paves the way for industrialization of a domestic supply chain using recycled LIBs to support the manufacturing new batteries. The dissemination of project results will continue through 2026.
The Issue
The lithium-ion battery industry is growing rapidly and is producing large volumes of waste batteries that are projected to grow significantly as more products reach end of life (EOL). There are no cost-positive recycle services available today. Conventional recycling processes produce metal sulfates which are more expensive than mined materials and typically do not meet purity specifications for battery manufacturing. Furthermore, batteries with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes commonly used in large format batteries (e.g., in buses and utility energy storage systems) cannot be recycled economically using any of the current recycling technologies. Novel direct recycling offers an efficient solution, but the performance of batteries made with recovered materials requires demonstration to build manufacturer confidence.
Project Innovation
This project is developing end-of-life Li-ion battery recycling using OnTo's cathode healing™, a direct recycling process for the recycling of two important types of Li-ion cathodes: lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide, which contains valuable cobalt, and lithium iron phosphate, which is cobalt-free. This recycling process treats the cathode material by keeping the material structure intact, which lowers the energy intensity and cost of recycling
The project will target advancements in: 1) efficient and accelerated sorting, separation, and de-energization strategies; 2) high rates (kg/day) of cathode/anode separation; 3) low temperature cathode regeneration; and 4) up-cycling of recovered materials into new battery cells. Additionally, the project will include a life cycle analysis and technoeconomic analysis to evaluate environmental benefits and revenue potential for different cathode chemistries and recycling process configurations.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
Novel direct recycling offers a promising pathway for recycling large lithium-ion batteries economically, but the performance of batteries made with recovered materials requires demonstration to build manufacturer confidence. This project will demonstrate high quality battery performance made from 100 percent recycled cathode material that can meet manufacturing specifications.
Affordability
The project aims to achieve operational costs of less than $5/kg for cobalt-containing cathodes and less than $2/kg for non-metal cathodes and anodes, which is at least a 10x reduction compared to market prices of cathodes made from mined materials.
Energy Security
The core innovation is the low temperature hydrothermal cathode re-lithiation process, which the applicant has patented and currently operates at lab scale (~10-100 grams/day) with the project goal to scale this to kg/day steady state operations. The low temperature process requires less energy than established and competing technologies.
Reliability
New batteries for stationary storage made with recycled materials can potentially provide grid reliability benefits with equivalent safety and performance as batteries made from mined materials at a lower cost.
Subrecipients
Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
Oregon State University
Renewance Inc.
Saft America, Inc.
Global Risk Intelligence and Planning (GRIP, Inc.)
Match Partners
Oregon State University
OnTo Technology LLC
Global Risk Intelligence and Planning (GRIP, Inc.)
