A Canadian company is planning to test its patented process that will see materials from spent lithium ion batteries recycled for use in new batteries.
American Manganese will partner with Kemetco Research to demonstrate the process, as long as it can secure funding for it.
According to the company, the cathode materials in lithium ion batteries contain lithium ion embedded in a base metal oxide matrix, and this represents the largest single material cost in the manufacture of lithium ion cells.
These batteries are typically used in consumer electronics devices such as mobile phones, but increasingly in larger products such as electric cars.
Kemetco Research president Norman Chow said: “There is currently no known commercial technology for the large scale recycling of cathode materials of multiple chemistries.
“The spent cathode materials represent an ideal resource material to be processed with American Manganese’s proprietary hydrometallurgical process.”
