Closing an emerging loop

Lithium-ion batteries, as well as nonlead acid batteries with varying chemistries, have had a major presence in the electronics sector for decades, but the production scale of such batteries has soared with the growing market share of electric vehicles (EVs).

Logically, as lithium-ion battery production has surged, so have investments in how to repurpose and ultimately recycle such batteries. Multinational firms of considerable scale as well as entrepreneurial startups have engaged in the competitive battle.

On the smaller startup side, co-founders Leon Farrant and Reza Katal of Singapore-based Green Li-ion have spent the 2020s seeking financial backing and scaling up their hydrometallurgical technology to recycle end-of-life batteries.

Farrant, who will present at next month’s Asia INTL Li-ion Battery Recycling Summit 2023 in Singapore, recently was interviewed by Recycling Today to talk not only about his own company’s progress, but also some of the global battery recycling trends and investments he is seeing from his viewpoint as a CEO in the sector.

Recycling Today (RT): With China having sold the most EVs in the past few years, to what extent has that nation been a pioneer in both installing capacity and developing technology to recycle EV batteries?

Leon Farrant (LF): China clearly got a head start on the global EV market, both in terms of EV sales and battery technology, and currently has a near monopoly on the global battery mineral supply chain. This is largely due to aggressive government action and investment aimed at cornering the market.

But while China has been the world's largest market for EVs, driving significant advancements in battery technology and manufacturing, foreign auto manufacturers and United States-based battery companies like Tesla have begun to challenge China’s dominance of the global EV and li-ion battery industries. In the past, the Chinese government has taken steps to scale and protect its domestic battery recycling industry by requiring foreign automakers wanting to sell electric cars in China to transfer their technology to local companies in order to receive government subsidies for their cars.

RT: What is your estimation of how other nations are installing recycling capacity to match their markets? In the U.S., EV market share has only now started rising—is battery recycling capacity evenly matched?

LF: One of the problems with battery recycling in the U.S. is that most companies are not up to scale, stalling efforts to build up a complete domestic recycling industry. As a result, battery recyclers in the U.S. and other countries with undeveloped domestic recycling industries are sending their black mass to be processed overseas to places like China and South Korea.

Green Li-ion is focused on filling the gaps in the U.S. battery remanufacturing industry. Green Li-ion is the only company in the U.S. that’s actively extracting ready-to-use battery materials from black mass. So, rather than sending black mass overseas to be processed into usable precursor cathode active material (pCAM), Green Li-ion’s partners are able to install the technology needed to remanufacture batteries on U.S. soil, inside their own factories and recycling facilities, kickstarting the domestic supply chain.

RT: To what extent do you see hydrometallurgy technology offered by Green Li-ion emerging as the preferred method to process end-of-life EV batteries?

LF: Unfortunately, non-environmentally friendly traditional processes are still the preferred or majority-used processes in China and surrounding countries. However, in countries that have tight environmental and critical mineral controls, Green Li-ion is becoming the preferred process. Also referred to as the holy grail of battery scrap re-manufacturing, our process involves taking spent battery materials directly to battery-grade cathode and anode material in a one-step process. It is less expensive, cleaner and more efficient than these old methods. With an end product at battery grade, it means our products can be dropped directly into any performance battery cell, such as in EV, phone, laptop or energy storage system (ESS) applications.

RT: What type of companies are positioning themselves to be involved in repurposing EV batteries?

LF: Salvage companies are actively collecting spent batteries now, while EV companies are working to establish their own recycling supply chains. Green Li-ion provides critical technology to battery manufacturers and recyclers, as well as automotive companies interested in re-manufacturing their products to maintain control over their supply chains. By integrating Green Li-ion’s compact equipment into existing production lines, lithium-ion battery recyclers and manufacturers can bring a crucial link in the battery supply chain in house while also boosting the efficiency and sustainability of their operations and lowering costs.

RT: Which types of companies are likely going to be operating hydrometallurgical materials recycling plants 10 or 15 years from now—automakers, existing battery makers, investment-funded startups?

LF: All of the above. Our modular technologies can be directly integrated into a battery manufacturer, recycler or cathode producer’s production line to achieve better profits and efficiencies for them. We see a lot of manufacturers vertically integrating, which makes [Green Li-ion’s modular] GLMC technology a frictionless solution to capturing and remanufacturing all their critical materials in a recycling loop. [Editor's note: Metals recovered include lithium, nickel, cobalt and potentially others, depending on battery chemistry.] 

RT: As more equity has flooded into the EV battery production and recycling sectors, to what extent will Green Li-ion face challenges competing as a small and organically growing company?

LF: The influx of equity into the EV battery production and recycling sectors is a positive thing for Green Li-ion. As a company, we view battery recyclers, including the larger, more established players in the industry, as potential customers and partners. Green Li-ion's unique technologies fill a gap that no other companies in the U.S. and other countries with unestablished recycling industries do: we produce modular hardware solutions that convert spent batteries into battery-grade cathode and anode material.

With global battery material supply chains under pressure, Green Li-ion is enabling new circular, domestic supply chains in North America and elsewhere. By integrating Green Li-ion’s compact equipment into existing production lines, lithium-ion battery recyclers and manufacturers can bring a crucial link in the battery supply chain in-house while also boosting the efficiency and sustainability of their operations and lowering costs.