🔋 Lithium Ion Battery's End of Life Cycle
What do we do with EV batteries at the end of their life in vehicles? This article delves into the evolving world of End-of-Life (EOL) lithium ion batteries (LIB).
🌱 Introduction
As we strive to electrify transportation, we get closer to the question: what do we do with EV batteries at the end of their life in vehicles? This article delves into the evolving world of End-of-Life (EOL) lithium ion batteries (LIB) , a crucial component in the sustainable management of EV batteries. We explore the innovative practices transforming 'spent' batteries into valuable resources.
🔋 The Life of Lithium Ion Batteries
🏎Average ownership period of gasoline cars is about 7 years before they transition to the second-hand market, EV batteries typically retire when they fall below 70-80% of their original capacity. This usually occurs after 8-10 years of use. Unlike gasoline engines, where the range remains relatively constant, the range of an EV is closely tied to the health of its battery. As a result, after 8-10 years, EV batteries often require refurbishment or repurposing.
⚡️By 2030, it's estimated that 138 GWh of batteries will be retired, equivalent to approximately 1.5 million EVs. With the cost of lithium-ion battery (LIB) production at around $98/kWh, this represents a substantial value - roughly $13.5 billion - in retired LIBs. Moreover, as lithium is a finite resource, there is growing concern among experts about reaching peak lithium production as early as the 2030s.
♻️EV batteries offer a sustainable afterlife through refurbishment or remanufacturing for applications such as stationary energy storage (ESS), backup generators, portable power tools, and more. The market for these applications is projected to reach $3.9 billion by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34.3% from 2022 to 2031.
💡 Key Concepts
Battery Pack Infrastructure: The structure of battery packs in EVs is integral to their functionality. These packs are composed of modules, which in turn are made up of individual cells [cathode||electrolyte||anode]
Battery Management System: An electronic circuit that oversees various aspects of the battery's operation, including charge, health, power, charging cycles, and thermal management. It's integrated into the battery pack, integrating directly into it.
♻️How EV Batteries are Transformed
🔄 Repurposing
Electric vehicle (EV) batteries are often retired once they reach 80% of their original capacity, primarily due to concerns about range, acceleration, and power output. Yet, these batteries still hold significant potential for applications like stationary energy storage and telecommunication infrastructure.
How It Works:
🔍 Screening and Diagnosis: Battery cells are the fundamental units that are grouped together to form modules. These modules are then assembled to create a battery pack. The modules undergo thorough testing to assess their remaining capacity and power capabilities. However, it's important to note that the degradation rate and capacity can vary among the modules within a pack, and the overall performance is typically limited by the module with the poorest performance.
🔧 Disassembly and New Management: The feasibility of reusing an entire battery pack directly depends on how closely its specifications (such as voltage, capacity, and physical size) align with the requirements of the new application. If they match, the pack can be reused as is. Otherwise, disassembly and reconfiguration may be necessary. During this phase, the packs are dismantled module by module. Each module is then individually assessed and sorted based on its performance metrics.
📊 Integration Challenges: The modules are then reassembled into a battery pack with a new battery management system (BMS). The primary challenges in this phase include reliably grading the modules, dealing with varying design and performance metrics, and reconfiguring them for their new purpose which is the main cost contributors in the repurposing process.
🛠️ Remanufacturing
Remanufacturing involves replacing underperforming cells or modules within battery packs, revitalizing them for reuse for second life applications of perhaps even for EV applications again.
🔬 Disassembly: The process starts with disassembly, breaking down the battery into modules and then into individual cells. (time-consuming manual work)-needs to be automated to implement at scale. require specialized expertise and rigorous safety procedures during disassembly
🔎 Cell-Level Inspection and Sorting: Each cell undergoes a thorough inspection and is sorted based on its condition and performance.
🔄 Cell Reconditioning, Rejuvenation, or Replacement: Depending on the assessment, cells may be reconditioned, rejuvenated, or replaced to restore the pack's overall functionality.
🔩 Repackaging and Reassembly: This stage involves repacking the cells into modules and packs and updating the battery management system (BMS).
🌟 Battery Recycling 🌟
What happens to these batteries once they've completed their second life? The answer lies in recycling. This stage addresses the environmental concerns associated with disposing while tapping into a valuable resource — the precious metals used in battery cathodes. Recycling batteries serves as a key solution to the ethical and financial challenges linked with the extraction of raw materials, and it is essential for the sustainable management of these limited resources.
🔋 Precious Metals in the Cathode:
The cathode in batteries is crucial. It's often made from lithium metal oxide, with lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) being a common choice in consumer electronics📱. But this brings up ethical concerns, especially regarding mining practices in the Congo. It's not just about ethics; it's also expensive.
Recent advancements in cathode chemistry, notably lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC), have successfully reduced cobalt usage. However, these newer chemistries integrate minerals like manganese, underscoring the growing need to advance recycling technologies
📊 In Numbers:
Lithium: Globally, lithium reserves are estimated at around 20 million tons. However, this amount could only power approximately 62% of the world's vehicle fleet 🚗. The cost of extracting lithium stands at about $3,300 per ton, which translates to a minimum of $66 billion for extraction costs alone.
Cobalt: The world's total cobalt reserves are about 8.3 million tons, with the Congo holding nearly half of this at 4 million tons. Continuing with LiCoO2 batteries means only 79% of the vehicle fleet could be electrified 🔌. The extraction cost for cobalt is steep, at $21,400 per ton, resulting in a whopping $177.6 billion in total.
Battery recycling can be categorized into three main methods:
💧Hydrometallurgy
🔥Pyrometallurgy
🔄Direct Recycling Process
💧Hydrometallurgy
Hydrometallurgy can recover metals at higher purity and selectivity however it can be a longer processing time and can be costly.
⚙️ Pretreatment: This phase involves discharging remaining capacity followed by mechanical process of crushing, sieving, and separation turning it into whats known as black mass.
🧪Leaching: Metals are extracted from solid waste into a liquid solution, typically using strong acids or bases to dissolve the metal ions into aqueous solutions
🔄Separation and and concentration: separate and concentrate from other impurities.
Precipitation: changing pH of the solution to precipitate dissolved metals
Solvent extraction: uses organic solvent to dissolve desired materials
Ion exchange: use resins to capture specific metal ions
🔩Metal recovery→ element extraction
Electrowinning: electrical current is passed through solution to allow metal to deposit on to the cathode
Cementation: a more reactive metal is used to precipitate the metal from solution
🔥Pyrometallurgical
Pyrometallurgical offers certain advantages in terms of speed and volume handling, it also presents specific challenges such as incomplete recovery and environmental concerns.
⚙️Pre-Treatment: Same as hydrometallurgy
🎇Smelting: Heating the battery to high temperatures, this step effectively breaks down plastics and separators and concentrates the metallic components, making them easier to recover in later stages.
🪨Metal Oxide Reduction: When batteries are used the precious metals in them often turn into metal oxides. Carbon sources are introduced during smelting as reducing agents to convert these metal oxides back to their metallic forms, such as copper, nickel, and cobalt.
🧪Post-Processing using Hydrometallurgy: These methods are employed to further refine and purify the recovered metals
Slag Formation: The smelting process generates slag on top of the metal, this slag includes materials like aluminum, lithium, and transition metal (TM) alloys which can be further recovered using hydrometallurgical processes.
🔄Direct Recycling Process
This process focuses on preserving the original structure and chemistry of the battery components, particularly the cathode, to reuse them in new batteries.
🌡️Electrolyte recovery: Using distillation or supercritical fluid extraction to recover the electrolyte from the cell
🧲Electrode Separation and Recovery: Separate the cathode and anode materials through processes such as magnetic separation, air classification, etc.
🔧Direct cathode recycling: This step involve removing the binder holding the active cathode material from the metal foil backing and regenerating the cathode
🔋Repairing Surface and Bulk Defects: During the charge and discharge cycles of a battery, some lithium becomes lost or inactive. Re-lithiation helps reintroduce lithium into the cathode material.
🔥Calcination: Calcination involves heating the materials to a high temperature in the presence of air or oxygen. This step is often used to remove any remaining organic materials or contaminants and can also help in restoring the crystal structure of the cathode material.
✨Anode Recovery: Typically the most expensive material is the cathode so the anode is not usually recovered however the graphite anode material can be purified and up-cycled as well.
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Key Takeaways
🔋 Battery Retirement: EV batteries typically retire after 8-10 years when they fall below 70-80% of their original capacity.
💰 Significant Retired Battery Value: By 2030, an estimated 138 GWh of batteries will be retired, representing a value of approximately $13.5 billion.
♻️ Repurposing: Retired EV batteries can be repurposed for applications like energy storage, with the market for these applications projected to reach $3.9 billion by 2031.
🛠️ Remanufacturing: EV batteries can be reused if underperforming cells or modules within battery packs are replaced.
🧪 Recycling Methods: Include hydrometallurgy (recovering metals with high purity), pyrometallurgy (high-temperature metal recovery), and direct recycling (preserving the original structure of battery components).
Great overview! Keep your insights coming.