Material Cycle Electrochemical Process for Recovering Valuable Raw Materials

Researchers at Fraunhofer IFAM are developing an electrochemical process to efficiently recover lithium, cobalt, and nickel from battery recycling. The goal is to reduce raw material dependencies and close the material cycle more sustainably.

The demand for lithium, cobalt, and nickel is increasing significantly with the expansion of electromobility and energy storage. At the same time, these raw materials are only available in limited quantities and mostly need to be imported. This underscores the importance of efficient recycling processes.

Electrochemical Process for Raw Material Recovery

In the project "MeGaBat—Methods for the Electrochemical Recovery of Active Battery Materials," a process is being developed to isolate valuable metals from process water during battery recycling. This involves the use of an electrochemical reactor with specially designed electrodes.

"Thanks to their special properties, the electrodes specifically extract ions from the wastewater and store them," explains Dr. Cleis Santos, head of the Electrochemical Processes for Recycling and Water Treatment group. "For example, they can bind lithium ions—and at the end of the process, we obtain the separated substance in powder form and high purity."

The electrodes are manufactured using screen printing and can be adapted to different materials. In addition to lithium, cobalt, nickel, or copper can also be recovered. In the future, multiple reactors could be combined to extract various raw materials in parallel.

Advantages Over Previous Processes

Compared to established hydrometallurgical processes, the technology operates without chemicals such as acids or alkalis and requires less energy. At the same time, the purity and efficiency of recovery can be increased—by an estimated 30 to 40 percent.

"We want to recover valuable raw materials and rare earths with high yield and purity—thereby closing the product cycle and reducing dependencies," says Dr. Julian Schwenzel, Head of the Electrical Energy Storage Department at Fraunhofer IFAM. The topic is also gaining importance in light of regulatory requirements: manufacturers will increasingly have to prove their CO₂ footprint and use more recycled materials in the future.

We want to recover valuable raw materials and rare earths with high yield and purity – thereby closing the product cycle and reducing dependencies.

Dr. Julian Schwenzel, Head of the Electrical Energy Storage Department, Fraunhofer IFAM

Perspectives: Rare Earths and Further Applications

In addition to battery materials, rare earths could also be recovered from electronic waste in the future. Initial tests in the laboratory have already been conducted, and the team is currently working on a pilot plant. "So far, we have to import 100 percent of rare earths. Thanks to our process, we could reduce this dependency," says Santos.

The process could also be used in other areas, such as seawater desalination or wastewater treatment.