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Electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer fringe technology — they’re mainstream, and with their rise comes the urgent question of what happens to the batteries once they reach end-of-life. One company, RecycLiCo, in partnership with Kemetco Research, has positioned itself at the cutting edge of closed-loop battery recycling — an approach that returns used or scrap lithium-ion battery materials back into production-ready form with minimal environmental impact.
Based on a wide-ranging Q&A session hosted by Munro with Jason Fenske of Engineering Explained and Kemetco’s Norman Chow, we dive into the technical innovations, economic implications, and sustainability goals driving RecycLiCo’s closed-loop system.
What Makes RecycLiCo Different?
Traditional battery recycling methods often involve energy-intensive processes such as pyrometallurgy (smelting) or complex solvent extraction. These methods recover some high-value metals like cobalt and nickel, but often sacrifice lithium and other components to waste streams like slag. RecycLiCo disrupts this norm.
Instead of reducing materials down to base elements and forcing battery manufacturers to rebuild cathode materials from scratch, RecycLiCo’s hydrometallurgical process skips many of the intermediate steps. Their system recovers precursor cathode active materials directly — the very compounds battery producers use.
This approach yields significant benefits:
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Higher metal recovery rates (97–99% for nickel, cobalt, and manganese; ~95% for lithium)
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Reduced CO₂ emissions (7.7 kg CO₂/kg of product vs. competitors’ 18.8 kg)
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Elimination of costly reformulation steps
From Scrap to Cathode: Understanding Black Powder vs. Black Mass
Battery recycling starts with feedstock — and understanding the difference between “black mass” and “black powder” is critical.
Black powder comes from production scrap. During EV battery manufacturing, roughly 30% of electrode material never makes it into finished cells due to stringent quality controls. This material, mostly intact cathode coatings, is rich in valuable metals (about 88% by weight), making it a prime candidate for recycling. Because it’s cleaner and more concentrated, it fetches a higher market value.
Black mass, by contrast, comes from spent batteries. These end-of-life cells are shredded and heat-treated. While recyclable, black mass includes casing fragments, binders, and other contaminants, making it less concentrated and more variable. RecycLiCo can handle both feedstocks, but black powder offers better economics and simpler logistics.
Closed-Loop Chemistry: How the Process Works
RecycLiCo’s system begins by leaching metals from the feedstock into solution. Instead of using unstable and reactive hydrogen peroxide as a reducing agent, RecycLiCo relies on sulfur dioxide (SO₂), which is safer, reusable, and widely used in food and mining applications.
From there, the solution is purified and fed into precursor reactors — stainless steel vessels that precipitate nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) hydroxide or similar materials used directly in cathode production. The process can also yield lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide as needed.
Notably, RecycLiCo’s method:
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Avoids smelting or acid baking
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Minimizes waste and energy use
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Produces battery-grade materials ready for reuse
A Lower Carbon Footprint
Compared to conventional methods, RecycLiCo’s hydrometallurgical process drastically reduces emissions. According to lifecycle analysis by Minviro, their process emits 7.7 kg of CO₂ per kilogram of precursor produced — less than half of what conventional solvent extraction systems generate.
Contrast this with virgin mining. Mining a ton of lithium ore may yield less than 1% usable metal. The remaining 99% is tailings, and the operations often run on diesel-powered equipment, especially in remote locations. In contrast, urban battery recycling deals with already-concentrated material and can operate in grid-connected facilities with better environmental controls.
Economic Resilience: The Case for Vertical Integration
One of the biggest risks in battery recycling is inconsistent feedstock supply. Spot market purchases of black powder or black mass can fluctuate wildly with metal prices and production volumes. RecycLiCo’s response? Joint ventures.
By co-locating with battery makers or scrap producers, RecycLiCo ensures a steady inbound supply of recyclable material — and a ready customer for its output. This vertically integrated model improves cost stability and eliminates long-haul logistics, further reducing emissions and operational risk.
Regulation and Market Demand
Currently, North America lacks unified regulation mandating battery recycling, although hazardous waste rules do prohibit landfilling spent EV batteries. Europe and Asia are ahead in enacting extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations.
Still, economics is becoming its own enforcer. The scarcity and strategic importance of lithium, cobalt, and nickel — along with the environmental costs of mining — make recycling not just sensible but inevitable. RecycLiCo’s system turns waste into value in a way that’s already drawing interest from OEMs and global chemical firms.
What’s Next for Graphite and Aluminum?
While cathode materials are the current focus, questions remain about anode material recycling — particularly graphite. Recycled graphite is hard to purify and restore to its original structure, often requiring high-temperature treatment. For now, it’s often downcycled into lower-value uses like fuel additives or steel production.
On the aluminum front, RecycLiCo can preserve and recover foil from black powder if it arrives in sheet form. Their patented pretreatment step allows for clean separation and resale as compressed pucks for aluminum recyclers. If the material arrives fully ground, the aluminum is dissolved and precipitated as hydroxide — still potentially reusable, though at a lower value.
Lithium Sourcing and the Global Picture
As demand for batteries surges, lithium sources are under pressure. Australia’s hard-rock spodumene mines supply nearly half the world’s lithium, most of it shipped to China for refining. The other half comes from South American brines — cheaper but slower to scale.
RecycLiCo’s technology doesn’t replace these sources but complements them. By recovering lithium from spent batteries and scrap, they reduce dependence on geopolitically concentrated mining operations. They also point to promising projects in Nevada (Ioneer) and Canadian clay and brine deposits — developments that could shift lithium supply chains westward.
Final Thoughts: Toward a Battery Circular Economy
RecycLiCo and Kemetco’s collaboration signals a turning point in battery recycling. By rethinking the process from the ground up and integrating lean design with real-world chemistry, they’ve built a system that’s cleaner, more efficient, and aligned with the coming wave of EV adoption.
Their success proves that closed-loop battery recycling isn’t theoretical — it’s operational. And for automotive OEMs, regulators, and engineers, it represents a blueprint for the future.
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