Recycling of spent batteries is one of the most important activities to support and to secure the raw materials supply for battery productions. There has been a significant development in the recycling technologies in recent years and more will come. The change is affected by the need for raw materials and will be heavily influenced by new battery directives in EU. We are happy to welcome Martina Petranikova, Associate Professor at Chalmers University of Technology, as a speaker at Battery Tech for EV 2022. Martina has more than 14 years of experience in waste management of spent batteries of all chemistries with focus on the material recycling. We asked Martina a few questions before the event.
What has happened in the development of recycling technology in recent years and what is going on?
The industry is shifting more to the hydrometallurgical treatment and there are a lot of new technologies developed to increase the material recovery rate. Some attention is paid to non-metallic parts such as a graphite and an electrolyte.
What are the biggest challenges in recycling right now from your perspective?
From the general perspective, I always say that the most important part of handling spent batteries is the efficient collection. That is the most crucial step in a whole value chain. In the material recycling is it not always efficient mechanical pre-treatment and generation of the secondary waste, which leads to the loss of some valuable materials.
What’s the most important thing you’d like to share in your presentation?
I want to show how proper pre-treatment of the batteries/ black mass can positively affect metals recovery and whole recycling process. And how crucial it is to select suitable techniques to meet all the goals we set to achieve a sustainability and partial circular economy in the battery production.
What are you most looking forward to by attending and speaking at the conference?
I am looking forward to presenting our research we perform at Chalmers and to meet other experts and stakeholders to discuss and to share our knowledge.