Research Forum

Lithium-ion batteries have become an integral part of our everyday lives. In the funded project “Sustainable recovery of critical metals from spent lithium-ion batteries using ionic liquids,” scientists are developing an environment-friendly process for recycling these important batteries. The project is being subsidized with a sum of €150,000 over a three-year period.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in the energy supply of smartphones, laptops, electric vehicles, and stationary storage units. However, they contain critical metals such as cobalt, nickel, and manganese. These raw materials are only available in limited quantities, and their extraction causes environmental pollution. It is thus all the more important to recover the materials contained in spent batteries as efficiently as possible.

In the new funded project, the scientists are using an approach from ionometallurgy for the recycling of lithium-ion batteries. With so-called ionic liquids – liquid salts that are not dissolved in a solvent such as water – metal compounds can be recovered from old batteries in a targeted process that places only a minimum of burden on the environment. The dissolved metals are then separated as pure constituents by electrolysis.

One main focus of this project is the development of ionic liquids on the basis of the biomolecule betaine, an inexpensive byproduct of sugar production. The betaine-based ionic liquids are particularly sustainable, and their constituents do not contain fluorine. The research project is committed to the future task of establishing a sustainable circular economy that conserves resources. New technologies will serve in the development of improved recycling strategies that enable critical metals to be reprocessed without secondary waste.