Recycled battery materials are moving closer to real-world use. Our partner NESSTEC has successfully recycled NMC622 (nickel, manganese, cobalt) cathode materials from simple powder, all the way to fully functional battery components.
The original powder material, sent by other FREE4LIB partner TORECCID was first transformed into a liquid mixture, known as a slurry, which was then carefully coated onto thin aluminium sheets.
After drying, the material was cut and refined to reach the right thickness and internal structure, key factors for battery performance.
Advanced techniques, including precision cutting guided by laser alignment, were then used to shape the electrodes for integration into pouch cells, a common battery format.
What makes this achievement particularly significant is the step-by-step optimisation carried out along the way. Starting with small-scale coin cell testing and progressing to larger pouch cells, NESSTEC has shown that recycled materials can be reliably scaled up for practical applications.
The work demonstrates an innovative, clear and promising route to bringing recycled battery materials back into the production cycle : an important step towards more sustainable lithium-ion batteries.
