The results mark a significant milestone in the development of a sustainable domestic supply chain for EV batteries in the UK, positioning recycled materials as a competitive alternative to mined sources.
Recycling old EV batteries and production scrap looks set to play a significant role in alleviating the shortage of raw materials needed for the energy transition and reducing the environmental impact of battery production. However, little work has been done to date to show the performance of recycled materials can match commercial materials.
Now, results from electrochemical testing of cells produced from Altilium's recycled CAM at its ACT1 facility in Devon have shown comparable rate and cycle performance with commercially available CAM used in today's high-nickel NMC 811 batteries. The cycle cell capacity of Altilium's recycled CAM reached 193 mAh.g⁻¹ in testing, aligning closely with the 190-194 mAh.g⁻¹ range typical for commercial CAM, showing its equivalence. Battery cycle testing, a vital step in the design and validation phases, involves repeated charge and discharge cycles to confirm a material's reliability and lifespan.
In addition, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the structure of Altilium's CAM remains indistinguishable from commercial variants. XRD is a non-destructive and versatile technique that can be used to monitor a wide range of parameters, including phase composition, crystallite size and orientation of a material.
These results highlight the capability of Altilium's recycled CAM to deliver both quality and sustainability to the EV battery market.
“With these results, Altilum has shown recycled battery metals can perform as well as virgin metals and that critical minerals are essentially the same whether they come from a mine or an old EV battery” said Dr Christian Marston, Altilium co-founder and COO. “Our recycled CAM not only matches but can even exceed the performance of traditional materials. “We have shown there is no need to compromise on performance, with the additional sustainability benefits of using recycled materials.”
The CAM was produced as part of a collaborative research project supported by the Advanced Propulsion Center (APC23). Atlilium produces CAM from recycled materials for production and qualification of new EV batteries. The company's EcoCathode process is able to recover over 95 percent of the critical metals, including lithium, from spent batteries, before upcycling and re-engineering them to produce modern battery chemistry materials.
CAM is a critical component in an EV battery and is key to determining safety, durability and range. Currently almost all the world's CAM is produced in Asia with no manufacturing in the UK. Building domestic capacity for production of these battery materials will be critical for the future of the UK's automotive sector as its makes the transition to EVs. According to the Advanced Propulsion Centre, the UK automotive industry will need 153,000 tonnes of CAM a year by 2035, for production of over one million EVs annually.
Altilium is now working with the UK Battery Industrialization Center (UKBIC) to produce battery cells using its recycled CAM, for validation with a leading automotive OEM. By scaling up domestic CAM production and demonstrating its manufacturing ability at scale, Altilium is supporting the development of a circular economy for battery materials and paving the way for a more sustainable EV industry.
A recent lifecycle analysis found that CAM produced using Altilium's process could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 74 percent, compared to primary raw materials from a Chinese supply chain.
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