Last September, the FREE4LIB project (Feasible REcovery of critical raw materials through a new circular Ecosystem FOR a Li-Ion Battery cross-value chain in Europe) began. In order to launch it, all the participating entities met at the coordinator’s facilities, CARTIF (Valladolid, Spain). The consortium has 21 partners from 7 different countries. Along 48 months, FREE4LIB will be active, in which 6 new recycling processes will be developed at TRL 5-6 level, contributing with innovative solutions for the recovery of materials (metal oxides, metals and polymers).
Some remarkable objectives of the project to highlight are:
- Create feasible and holistic recycling processes by analysing and evaluating data from LIBs.
- Develop sustainable and efficient technological solutions for recycling different Li-battery chemistries and material re-using based on intelligent process design to optimise its scale up.
- Recover higher amount of resources from spent LIBs to use as secondary raw materials in new batteries based on a sustainable transferability model to improve vertical integration on manufacturing.
- Design for Recycling (DfR) of new Li-batteries
- Create a Battery Passport and battery recycling modelling platforms
- Research on 21 technologies covering the entire Li-ion battery value chain
Within the project, Lurederra Technology Center will lead one of the recycling routes based on the use of Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP) technology, in which materials previously recovered from lithium batteries will be used for the design and synthesis of novel cathodes.