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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

mainly recycles lithium-ion batteries
from the consumer electronics mar-
ketƒon a large scale, it also processes
cells from high-voltage storage systems.
However, it will still take consider-
ableƒtime before these can be supplied
in bulk.

The disassembly of
large battery systems allows RECYCLING AS SECOND-LIFE
peripheral constituent elements STORAGE
of the battery to be recovered
(© Andreas Burkert) A normal electric-vehicle battery still
lasts longer than previously assumed,
as Tesla discovered in a study con-
ductedƒin the USA in 2013. According
for plastic or steel and aluminum recy- recycling process efficiently and in to the survey, the batteries used in
cling. But the cells are then shredded. bulkƒin future.” He thinks that efficient the Tesla Roadster electric sports car
This can only be managed safely be - disassembly of the batteries to cell or still retain just under 85 % of their
cause Duesenfeld removes the electrolyte module level is an important aspect ori ginal battery performance after
directly after shredding. One positive thatƒis still not taken seriously enough. 160,000ƒkm. According to the manu-
side ef fect is that the electrolyte – for- Current development work centers on facturer, only 70ƒ% would be expected
merly seen as difficult to recycle – can safety issues, alongside the aim of con- after 80,000ƒkm. This is also a reason
now be sold as a specialty chemical. In centrating as much power as possible why the German Federal Ministry for
the subsequent separation of materials, inƒa constricted space. theƒEnvironment, Nature Conservation
organic carbonates, copper, aluminum and Nuclear Safety is unable to provide
and separator, as well as cell and, where OPTIMIZED BATTERY DESIGN data on the collection rate, i.e. the ratio
present, module cladding materials can FOR EFFICIENT RECYCLING of returned used batteries relative to the
be recovered. total number of batteries in circulation
Many recycling firms often choose in a particular year. “They don’t exist
theƒsmelting furnace because correct for industrial batteries,” said a ministry
HIGH RECYCLING EFFICIENCY
THANKS TO SHREDDING AND recycling means having to invest spokesperson.
ELECTROLYTE RECOVERY moneyƒand effort into disassembling The quantity of returned used
electric-vehicle batteries. Regardless of electric-vehicle batteries containing
“The electrode powder separated from the whether this is performed at 1400 or lithium is currently still very low.
other fractions can be directly processed 500 ˚C (in the light version), together Forƒone, “batteries are often given
into graphite, cobalt sulfate, nickel sulfate, with the necessary gas scrubbing, aƒnew lease of life at the end of their
manganese sulfate and lithium carbon- the efficiency of the recycling process service life cycle as stationary batter-
ate in a patented hydro-metallurgical remains largely unspectacular. At the iesƒfor storing renewable energy,” as
process,” Hanisch says, explaining the same time, a battery design adapted theƒfederal agency explains. And it is
process, and points out that the process- to recycling needs at system and cell aƒbusiness with high profit margins,
manages to consume 70 % less energy level would benefit the entire value theƒanalysts from Berylls Strategy
than traditionalƒrecycling methods. The chain. Including car manufacturers. Advisors explainƒ[3]. They forecast a
approach ofƒdischarging the storage bat- “The more the electric-vehicle battery likely capacity of 1522ƒGWh in used
teries supplied prior to recycling and design is optimized for recycling and batteries deployableƒas second-life
channeling the power thus recovered the higher the raw material prices, storage by 2032. The con sultants see
into the process stands out in the sector. theƒgreater the customer benefit from this as a lucrative businessƒline for
Incidentally, this technological leap for- recycling,” says Hanisch. battery package suppliers like Bosch
ward hasƒalso been secured by two However, the business of recycling andƒElringKlinger, as well as OEMs.
recently granted patents. But Hanisch lithium storage batteries is already
wants to goƒeven further. lucrative today, although none of the Andreas Burkert
In future, he would like to see elec- companies we asked would give any
tric-vehicle batteries fitted with a plug concrete figures. Only the fact that REFERENCES
connector that would allow them to trade in the coveted raw materials [1] N. N.: Kobalt auch in den nächsten Jahren stark
be discharged more easily and safely. is intensifying. Umicore is investing gefragt. Online: https://www.miningscout.de/
blog/2018/01/17/kobalt-auch-in-den-naechsten-
Recycling would also benefit from an nearly 600 million euros in an initial jahren-stark-gefragt, access: June 26, 2018
easy-to-open, maintenance-friendly production plant to manufacture cath- [2] Berylls Strategy Advisors: Batterie-
casing. Dieter Offenthaler, Managing ode materials for the European auto- Produktion – heute und morgen. March 2018
Director of Swiss firm Batrec, calls for motive market. The first product deliv- [3] Dera: Rohstoffrisikobewertung – Kobalt. June 2018
[4] Köllner, C.: The Dark Side of Our Raw-materials
aƒdesign for recycling, “to be able eries from Nysa in Poland are sched- Supply Chain. In: MTZworldwide 79 (2018), No. 7/8,
to introduce car batteries into the uledƒfor 2020. Although the company pp. 8-13
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