Mechanical recycling by
shredding, drying and separation of
outcome fractions.
Technology
All the way from charged battery waste to green battery materials
In Elemental we have developed our own, proprietary process for li-ion battery waste recycling, which includes full processing cycle – from charged battery waste to production of pure battery metals.
Battery feed
Our innovative process is designed to handle various battery types and chemistries. Our process accepts large battery packs, battery modules, small batteries and battery production scrap.
Before batteries enter the recycling phase, battery feed needs to be prepared. This involves separation, diagnostics, dismantling and discharging whenever necessary.
The process consist of 2 major stages:
Stage 1.
Shredding & Sorting
During mechanical processing, batteries are first shredded
in a safe, closed atmosphere, without emissions
of dangerous gases to the environment.
The hazardous and flammable electrolyte is dried,
condensed and recovered. This is followed by advanced
separation and leads to obtaining following products:
Black mass powder
The powder, commonly called “black mass”,
contains recovered battery cathode and anode materials, which contain valuable battery metals – Li, Co, Ni, Mn as well as graphite.
Aluminum and copper
Aluminum and copper come from foils which are part of cathode and anode in li-ion batteries
Steel fraction
Steel comes from battery casings.
Plastic
This organic fraction comes mostly from foil
separators inside batteries.
LCO/NMC Battery feed
Stage 2.
Refining
Refining of battery metals by
hydrometallurgical and electrometallurgical
steps.
Black mass powder, derived at the mechanical recycling stage, contains
valuable battery metals – lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese. But further
treatment is required before they can be re-introduced to battery value chain.
Our innovative refining process is the final step in obtaining pure battery
materials. This is achieved by a unique set of hydrometallurgical operations,
such as acid leaching, precipitation, electrodeposition and many other
procedures. As a result we produce both pure electrolytic metals and in the
form of chemicals suitable for further application in battery production.
Our technology in numbers
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up to 95% of recovered materials
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tons of inhouse battery shredding capacity till 2025
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tons - targeted refining capacity till 2025