What is ReLiB?
ReLiB is a £18m basic research project led by University of Birmingham, that aims to provide technological solutions, and thought leadership, to the challenges of re-using and comprehensively recycling lithium-ion batteries of different chemistry systems. Our UK academic collaborators are The University of Edinburgh, Newcastle University, University of Leicester, University of Oxford, Imperial College London & University College London.
Our Aims
The aim of the ReLiB project is to establish the Technological, Economic and Legal infrastructure required to optimise the efficiency of material management from Lithium-ion batteries utilised in the automotive sector.
What is ReLiB's Vision?
Vision
The goal of ReLiB is to provide a UK EV battery recycling industry with a pipeline of scalable technologies that are responsive to regulatory drivers, new battery designs and chemistries, and the opportunities afforded by Industry 4.0
5 Year View
In five year’s time we aim to see the following technologies developed – and scaled:
- cathode leaching work to industrial level
- upcycled electrode materials used in new cells
- binder recovery (where there is an economic or regulatory rationale to do so)
- biorecovery of materials e.g. metals from plastic EV battery waste, from secondary waste solutions—’zero waste’ concept—(where there is an economic or regulatory rationale to do so)
- smart disassembly, separation and regeneration technologies e.g. direct recycling to protect the material crystal structure and embedded value of electrode material for reuse
- digital diagnostic tools that can interface seamlessly with battery data passports to assess the state of health of batteries and inform recycling routes
- identification of new research topics that fit with changing battery design & chemistry systems and regulatory drivers.
Key Challenges for Recycling
Maximizing throughput
Maximizing amount of battery materials recovered
Maximizing the value of recovered materials minimizing
Cost & market failure mitigation
Minimizing waste
Our
Processes
Life Cycle Analysis
The use of life cycle analysis and techno-economic assessment of each recycling route to identify optimum management systems.
Economic Assessment
An assessment of the relative engineering & economic gains for various 2nd life applications.
Systems
Fully autonomous gateway testing and robotic sorting techniques & development of systems.
Segregation
The development of recycling technologies to segregate and purify the different materials.
Characterisation
Of active materials from cells near, & at EoL & recycled materials recovered from used batteries.
Key Statistics
265,000
New EV registrations in 2022
Source: Department for Business & Trade UK Battery Strategy
9.5%
increase in UK EV production in 2022
Source: Department for Business & Trade UK Battery Strategy
750,000
EVs predicted to be produced annually by 2030
Source: The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT)
ReLiB:
Our Areas of Research
Since its inception, ReLiB has pursued a high-technology, science- and safety-led approach to the challenges of managing EoL EV LIBs in three complementary work streams. The ReLiB project will continue its open and collaborative research ethos organized into the following three, closely cooperating work streams:
Data Driven Pack Handling
WS1
- WP1.1 Fundamental Cell Metrology
- WP1.2 In-line Testing & Battery Preparation
- WP1.3 Data-Driven Decision Making*
Materials Extraction
WS2
- WP2.1 Electrode Extraction
- WP2.2 Black Mass Valorization
- WP2.3 Delamination & Debinding
Materials Refining
WS3
- WP3.1 Leaching & Extraction
- WP3.2 Electrolyte Recovery & Regeneration
- WP3.3 Active Material Upcycling
- WP3.4 Biological Recovery
- WP3.5 Short-loop Recycling
- WP3.6 Direct Recycling*
Remanufacturing & Testing
WS4
- WP4.1 Benchmarking of WS3 Processes
- WP4.2 Design for Disassembly*
- WP4.3 Long-term Testing of Recovered Materials*
Designing Recycling Processes
WS5
- WP5.1 Holistic Assessment of Sustainability*
- WP5.2 LCA & TEA
- WP5.3 Process Optimisation
- WP5.4 Design for Recycling*
* Work based on exploratory studies in previous phases considered