Sustainable Development Technology Canada has awarded the engineering firm Seneca $3.8 million toward developing a lithium-ion battery recycling business in the province. Seneca is part of the consortium Lithion Recycling Inc.
The Lithion consortium includes Seneca, Centre d’etudes des procedes chimiques du Quebec, Call2Recycle, and Hydro Quebec’s Centre of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage.
As the electric vehicle market grows, so will the need to recycle lithium-ion batteries, and Lithion Recycling intends to be one of the first. Its innovative and patented process will allow up to 95% of the battery components to be recovered in an environmentally friendly and cost effective manner.
Lithion has developed a technology capable of recycling all types of lithium-ion batteries. The batteries contain recoverable amounts of cobalt, lithium and graphite, each of which can be used in the manufacture of new batteries. This keeps the used batteries out of landfill sites.
Lithion aims to commercialize its process worldwide, beginning with the construction of a 200-t/y pilot plant in Quebec next year. This could make Canada a leader in the sustainable battery sector.
