By David Wagger/Craig Boswell
In early November, ISRI participated in the first ReCell Center Industry Collaboration Meeting at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), near Chicago. ISRI member, Alter Trading, was a meeting sponsor. The ReCell Center is the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) first lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling center, supported by $15M in DOE funding over three years. Based at ANL, ReCell is a collaboration of industry, universities, and national laboratories for advancing the recycling and recyclability of existing and future LIBs. ReCell’s research areas include design for recycle, direct cathode recycling, recycling of LIB materials, and lifecycle modelling and analysis.
Attended by more than 100 individuals, this kickoff ReCell Meeting was the first opportunity for the various stakeholders to meet in-person and to begin to discuss avenues for collaboration and research activities. The first day provided background on recycling challenges for LIBs, ReCell’s research focus areas, and on-going LIB recycling research at ANL, followed a panel discussion and evening reception for networking and review of research posters. The second day covered the research capabilities of and collaboration opportunities with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboatory, and ANL and also ReCell’s award-winning EverBatt model for evaluating cost and environmental impacts of LIBs during their lifecycle. The meeting ended with breakout sessions and reporting on EverBatt, collaboration ideas, LIB Recycling Prize (see article), lessons learned, and design for recycle.
ISRI expects to continue its involvement in ReCell over the next three years, including attendance at future meetings.