InnoRec - Innovative recycling processes for new lithium cell generations

A future recycling process must be highly flexible and respond dynamically to new production techniques and new materials used, so that multi-material recovery is as energy-efficient as possible and can respond to variations in the respective input streams and output demand. The process route to be developed should also be individually optimizable for individual compounds and elements such as electrolyte, electrode material and elementary ingredients. For this purpose, mechanical, thermal and chemical process stages must be used and connected in different ways. The work objectives of the WWUM were divided into three sub-work packages, which were, however, linked to one another. In the analysis, the starting materials were analyzed for their composition. The recovered materials were also tested for their composition and purity. This was to determine the influence of recovery on the material and to consider occupational safety during storage and processing. During extraction, the entire electrolyte should be recovered from the cells. During resynthesis, the anode and cathode materials should be converted back into "battery grade" materials and used in cells. The MEET Battery Research Center at the WWU Münster has extensive experience in the field of presentation, development, optimization and characterization of electrode materials (anode and cathode materials, inactive components) as well as in the field of development, construction and electrochemical characterization of various cell chemistries for lithium-ion batteries. In particular, experience is available in the field of synthesis, modification and electrochemical characterization of novel active materials and their combination in the full cell system. In addition, experience has already been gained in the field of recycling the main components of a battery (anode, cathode, electrolyte) and supplemented by subsequent resynthesis and characterization of the electrodes.