SK Innovation said on Monday that its battery metal recycling technology has received verification in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) from Argonne National Laboratory, a research agency under the US Department of Energy.
The laboratory said the company’s technology to extract materials from the battery could lead to reduction in carbon emission, SK Innovation said.
Using the technology to manufacture lithium hydroxide will lower carbon emission by 74% compared to mining and 41% compared to extracting them from a lake.
For cathode production, it will reduce carbon emission by 47% compared to mining and 39% compared to extracting them from a lake, the South Korean energy company said.
The technology extract lithium in lithium hydroxide format so that it can be reused for high-nickel cathode production, such as those for NCM811.
It can also reduce the use of chemical in wet methods of extracting nickel, cobalt and manganese before taking out the lithium in used batteries. Current methods use sulfur oxide, which is harmful to the environment, and also extract lithium in lithium carbonate form, which has low purity.
