The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a lithium-ion battery recycling center, the ReCell Center, at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. The ReCell Center’s goal is to develop profitable methods to dramatically improve battery recycling rates. DOE is funding the ReCell Center with $15 million over three years.

The ReCell Center will have four key focus areas: the development of direct cathode recycling, in which products can go directly into new batteries without reprocessing; the development of technologies to recycle additional battery materials, creating additional revenue streams; the development of new battery designs, optimized for easy recycling; and the development of modeling and analysis tools, to direct and validate the center’s research.

The ReCell Center will serve as a collaboration space for researchers from industry, academia, and other government laboratories. Collaborators include Argonne, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of California at San Diego, Michigan Technological University, and industry representatives including battery manufacturers, automotive OEMs, recycling centers, battery lifecycle management services, and material suppliers.

“The ReCell Center will help expedite the pursuit to profitable lithium-ion battery recycling,” said Jeff Spangenberger, Director of the ReCell Center. “It combines the nation’s leading experts and research tools from academia, industry and government laboratories to solve science challenges that have prevented the U.S. from reaping the economic, environmental and security benefits that come with having a large commercial U.S.-based lithium-ion recycling market.”

Source: Argonne National Laboratory