Techno-economic and environmental assessments for hydrometallurgical treatment of waste lithium-ion batteries (LIBs): The ELiMINATE project

Journal article, 2025

The increasing demand for consumer electronics and electric vehicles (EVs), in particular, results in a rapid increase in the production of end-of-life (EoL) lithium-ion battery (LIB) waste. Compared to pyrometallurgical treatment, hydrometallurgical treatment of LIBs offers several advantages for recovering strategic and critical metals. The ELiMINATE project, which is a multidisciplinary project, involved mapping of LIB recyclers located in the EU as well as life cycle assessment of hydrometallurgical processes using mineral acids (HCl, H2SO4) and certain organic acids for the recovery of metals from cathode active materials present in EoL LIBs. Material mapping and logistic network modelling studies for the recycling of EoL LIBs were carried out for different contexts (European and South African). These assessments were used to determine optimal locations for collection centres and processing plants. In addition, experimental tests were carried out to develop novel hydrometallurgical recycling processes using inorganic and organic acid solutions to leach metals in the presence of different reducing agents (H2O2 and Na2S2O5). Further tests were performed to remove impurities and selectively recover metals from pregnant leach solutions in different salts/compounds. The developed processes at TRL 3-4 were then tested at a pilot scale (TRL 6) with the cooperation of EXITCOM Recycling, the SME partner of the project. The findings have demonstrated that high metal recoveries can be achieved at the leaching stage under optimum conditions, and that critical/strategic metals can be selectively separated/recovered using suitable methods.