The Recycling Li-ion batteries for Electric Vehicle (ReLieVe) project, founded by Eramet along with BASF and Suez, will receive $4.7 million (euros) in funding by EIT Raw Materials, a consortium initiated and funded by the European Union, and the three founding members of ReLieVe.
The objective of the project is to develop a closed loop process to recycle lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles and to enable the production of new lithium-ion batteries in Europe, according to a news release from Eramet.
“The ReLieVe project responds to the European Commission’s appeal to unite European players to position itself in the fast-growing lithium-ion battery market,” remarks Laurent Joncourt, chairman of Eramet Ideas, the Group’s R&D center. “Thanks to this funding, the ReLieVe project will be able to accelerate its work and progress towards the construction of a lithium-ion battery recycling sector with an innovative and competitive process on a European scale.”
Over the next two years, the project will undertake a series of large-scale development of the process and the structuring of an integrated industrial sector, from the collection and dismantling of end-of-life batteries going into recycling to the manufacturing of new electrode materials.
Suez will be responsible for the collection and dismantling of end-of-life batteries, while Eramet will develop the recycling process and BASF will be charged with manufacturing the cathode active materials.
“As a leading cathode active material supplier to battery producers for electrified vehicles, BASF is confident that recycling will play an increasingly important role in the roll out of electromobility,” says Daniel Schönfelder, vice president of business management, BASF Battery Materials Europe. “We are committed to foster an innovative, sustainable and competitive battery value chain in Europe together with partners and will contribute our expertise in cathode material production to the project.”
Researchers from Chimie ParisTech and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology will provide academic support and members of the automotive sector will be part of the advisory committee.
The development of new European lithium-ion battery recycling capabilities will make it possible to respond to the strong growth of this market in the coming years and to the issue of securing Europe’s supply of raw materials required for its energy transition, Eramet says.
“We are proud to bring our expertise and contribute to the recovery of end-of-life battery components through this partnership. Around 50,000 tons of batteries are expected to be recycled by 2027 in Europe and it could be multiplied almost tenfold by 2035,” says Jean-Marc Boursier, Suez chief operating officer and senior executive vice president. “With the ReLieVe project, Suez is supporting the development of alternatives approaches that blend circular solutions with sustainable urban mobility.”
EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology) Raw Materials, which is the largest consortium in the raw materials sector worldwide, co-finances the ReLieVe project. Its mission is to enable sustainable competitiveness of the European minerals, metals and materials sector along the value chain by driving innovation, education and entrepreneurship.