Licovolt has developed a unique and new way of recycling spent lithium-cobalt batteries at a fraction of the cost and CO2 emissions of current methods.
Irish business Licovolt has inked a major deal with Australian-headquartered battery business Pure Battery Technologies (PBT) to transform the production of sustainable battery materials for the electric vehicle industry.
Licovolt was co-founded by UCD scientists, Associate Professor Tony Keene, UCD School of Chemistry and Associate Professor Steven Ferguson, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, with the support of NovaUCD.
“Licovolt’s agreement with PBT has the potential to springboard Licovolt’s technology”
The business has developed a unique and new way of recycling spent lithium-cobalt batteries at a fraction of the cost.
Licovolt’s advanced technology, which processes novel precursor materials to produce both Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO) and Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) CAM, offers a seamless and complementary addition to PBT’s existing flow-sheet.
A powerful combination
“The Licovolt team are excited to be working with PBT, leveraging their operating facility and hard-earned raw material supply and off-take relationships,” said Clint Zahmel, executive director of Licovolt.
“Licovolt’s agreement with PBT has the potential to springboard Licovolt’s technology as well as provide a valuable addition to PBT’s facilities. We look forward to working with the team at PBT.”
Situated at the heart of Europe’s EV manufacturing hub, PBT’s refinery in Hagen, Germany, currently produces about 2,000 tonnes of nickel products annually.
Plans are underway to expand operations with a new state-of-the-art refinery expansion to produce up to 12,000 tonnes per annum of high-quality precursor Cathode Active Material (pCAM).
Using innovative, green technology, PBT refines raw materials such as Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) and recycled battery black mass into clean, high-grade pCAM for lithium-ion batteries.
“Licovolt’s technology presents an exciting potential addition to PBT’s flow-sheet and PBT’s existing and expanded facilities,” said Bjorn Zikarsky, CEO of PBT.
“PBT and Licovolt have a great team of people and importantly have the ability to rapidly scale Licovolt’s technology given our operating facility in Hagen.”
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