Lithium Iron Phosphate Recycling – ZirKat Project
Raw Materials from Lithium Iron Phosphate Cathode Material for the Circular Economy
Lithium-ion batteries are the battery type of choice for a wide range of applications requiring high energy density. They are thermally stable, have remarkable cycling performance, non-toxic properties and a high energy and power density. However, despite recent improvements in long-term cycle stability, ageing mechanisms mean that every battery will inevitably lose capacity. Improper handling of waste LFP batteries could lead to significant environmental hazards and the loss of valuable secondary resources.
Goals of the ZirKat research Project
Together with our project partners, we are investigating the feasibility of recycling LFP material from ageing or defective batteries as part of the ZirKat project. The acronym stands for the German “recycling of raw materials from lithium iron phosphate cathode material for the sustainable use of resources in battery production”.
The project is initially concentrating primarily on cathode materials. The main objective is to recover raw materials from lithium iron phosphate cathode material, with the recycled material being used directly for the production of new cathode material and even new LFP batteries. This type of battery is becoming increasingly important for the energy transition and is used in stationary batteries for the intermediate storage of green electricity or in electric vehicles, for example.
ZirKat Project Partners
As part of the ZirKat research project, our R&D team is working with a number of renowned project partners: Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences with the Innovation Center for Materials, K-Utec, Analytic Jena and EAS Batteries.
Together with partners from industry and science, the group forms a competence cluster and is funded as part of the Thuringia Verbund Dynamik research and development project and co-financed by the European Union as part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF program 2021-2027).
In order to approach the core question, a number of processes must be covered in the project, including mechanical treatment, such as the dismantling and shredding of batteries, as well as chemical, thermal and analytical processes. Finally, it must be investigated how the recycled material can be integrated into the production of Li-ion batteries.
Our expertise is of great value to the questions concerning thermal treatment, a core process of the project. This includes the preparation of the raw material by spray drying through to the preparation of the LFP material by calcination in the rotary kilns. By now, processing has begun and we look forward to presenting further results and findings in the near future.
