Factorial Energy, Young Poong partner to research lithium-metal battery recycling

Factorial Energy Inc., a Woburn, Massachusetts-based developer of quasi-solid-state battery technology for electric vehicle (EV) and storage applications, will partner with South Korea-based nonferrous metal smelting and refining company Young Poong to invest in research into lithium-metal recycling for solid-state batteries.

Factorial will provide Young Poong with excess lithium-metal material from its battery manufacturing process, and Young Poong will use the material to develop a process for recycling lithium-metal that has the ability to be reused and integrated into Factorial’s solid-state batteries, enabling a circular economy.

The companies say the project will include the recycling of excess material from Factorial’s current pilot manufacturing operations and future production and manufacturing facilities.

“Our core mission to advance sustainable mobility extends beyond EV battery manufacturing,” Factorial co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Alex Yu says. “We are deeply invested in advancing technologies that foster a circular economy. Through our partnership with Young Poong, Factorial is poised to shape a future characterized by a resilient supply chain for solid-state batteries, helping to drive the growth and sustainability of the EV industry.”

According to Factorial, its patented Fest lithium-metal solid-state batteries provide safer and up to 50 percent higher energy density batteries compared to lithium-ion batteries. The company has investments and joint development agreements with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Hyundai. With a lithium-metal anode, Factorial’s batteries require a different recycling process than traditional lithium-ion battery recycling.

Factorial says it is estimated that less than 10 percent of lithium batteries are recycled in the U.S., with experts forecasting that in 2025, production scrap will account for 78 percent of the pool of recyclable materials from batteries. The partnership is expected to advance Young Poong’s exploration into lithium-metal recycling, to create a novel recycling process for automotive-grade lithium-metal solid-state batteries.

“We are pleased to be working with Factorial to advance our research into lithium-metal recycling for solid-state rechargeable batteries, an industry first,” says Kang In Lee, business division and green metal division representative at Young Poong. “With lithium-metal recycling, we have the opportunity to establish a recycling process well in advance of the future decommissioning of solid-state batteries.”

Young Poong says its secondary battery recycling technology is the world’s first pyrometallurgy process that can recover more than 90 percent of lithium and more than 95 percent of nickel, cobalt and copper from used batteries.