These days it is a common occurrence to come across references to the circular economy, which is something the UK government has committed to as part of their 25 Year Environment Plan (for England).
According to Wikipedia, a circular economy is “a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible.” The definition is useful because it helps us understand that many of the activities associated with the circular economy are not new. For thousands of years of years, it was entirely natural for mankind to repair and recycle until more wasteful approaches to resources emerged in recent waves of economic development. Increasing populations and resource scarcity have caused the world to re-discover the benefits of the circular economy.
It is another of those areas that affects us all, whether by recycling bins at home or industrial scale metals recovery from scrapped vehicles, ships or aircraft. However, as new technologies develop, fresh recycling challenges are emerging, and lithium-ion batteries are a case in point as electric vehicles replace internal combustion engines.
General Motors has announced plans to stop selling gas-powered vehicles by 2035, with other major manufacturers following suit. According to BloombergNEF, two-thirds of the world’s passenger vehicle sales will be electric by 2040. However, recycling their lithium-ion batteries is hard and potentially very hazardous. To date it has been costing more to recycle those batteries than to mine more materials (notably lithium, cobalt, and nickel) to make new ones, which in itself is a process fraught with environmental concerns.
Solving technological challenges affecting the future economy is a priority for Innovate UK, and one company taking advantage of funded support is Sheffield-based R S Bruce (Metals & Machinery) Limited who are developing a pilot recycling plant with the eventual aim of processing 20,000 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries each year.
Funded support from Innovate UK and Innovate UK EDGE has played a vital role in their project as their project manager Sam Haig acknowledges:
“Research and development is never simple but Innovate UK Faraday Challenge funding has allowed us to develop a commercially viable process for recycling lithium-ion batteries. The Innovate UK EDGE support which followed has helped us to plan for scaling the project by providing advice and signposting us to external support and expertise.”
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