Colabats

CoLaBATS will develop new battery recycling processes for the recovery of cobalt, lanthanum, cerium, copper, nickel and other materials from waste batteries, significantly improving recycling efficiencies and recovered metal purity compared to existing recycling routes.

The project will focus on rechargeable Li-ion and NiMH batteries.  These batteries are found in everyday consumer products such as mobile phones and lap-tops, industrial equipment, and are important for the developing electric vehicle market.  The project will evaluate the use of ultrasound to help separate battery components and the use of task specific ionic liquids (TSILs) for the selective extraction of metals.