Nanoengineers at UC San Diego have created a low-energy, cost-effective method to recycle and regenerate worn cathodes from used lithium-ion batteries—restoring them to like-new condition. The process recovers lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese from spent cathodes, using a simple heat and chemical treatment to return degraded materials to their original atomic structure and performance levels.

Led by Professor Zheng Chen, a member of the Sustainable Power and Energy Center, the research tackles the environmental and economic challenges of lithium-ion battery waste. With less than 5% of batteries recycled today, this method could significantly reduce the need for raw material mining and lower battery production costs.

The technique successfully regenerated cathode materials like lithium cobalt oxide (used in phones and laptops) and NMC (common in EVs). It uses just 5.9 megajoules of energy per kilogram—less than half the energy of other leading methods—making it scalable for industrial adoption.

Chen’s team aims to develop this process into a general recycling solution for all lithium-ion cathodes and is also working on anode recycling. A provisional patent has been filed, and the group is seeking commercial partners to bring the technology to market.

Read the full article:

https://today.ucsd.edu/story/recycling_and_reusing_worn_cathodes_to_make_new_lithium_ion_batteries