Altilium develops hydrometallurgy method for automotive battery recycling

Demand for rare materials within batteries used in electric vehicles is escalating rapidly and as recycling these batteries is difficult, companies are experimenting with new and alternative methods for retrieving these materials from used power cells. Altilium claim they have made a major breakthrough using hydrometallurgy.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) states that, ‘nearly one in five cars sold in 2023 was electric. This was a 35% year-on-year increase compared to 2022 and brought the number of EVs on the world’s roads to 40 million. The problem with this is that demand for batteries, and the materials required to make them, is soaring.’

Graphite from the anode is extracted during Altilium’s battery shredding process and whilst this extraction once required pyrometallurgy, which produces a lot of emissions, Altilium now opts for hydrometallurgy. Black mass is soaked in sulphuric acid, which filters out the graphite.

From there the nickel, cobalt and manganese can be extracted through mixing the liquid with kerosene plus special chemicals that pull the metals out of the solution.

Christian Marston, president and chief operating officer of Altilium commented, “One of the big challenges is that the minerals are kind of concentrated in certain places.”

Chief technology officer Ben Wickham mentioned that, “Battery chemistry is moving fast.”

In 2022 the Inflation Reduction Act went through President Biden’s administration and this funded climate actions and pushed other companies towards pursuing similar efforts. Li-Cycle has set up plants in Canada, Germany and the US, Redwood Materials has sites in Northern Nevada and South Carolina and has established partnerships with Toyota, VW and BMW, plus various other businesses have decided to invest in battery recycling tech. Each of these companies need to scale up and Altilium is focused on its plants which are larger and designed to continuously operate.