Clean Fuel News

Energy Department Announces Battery Recycling Prize and Battery Recycling R&D Center

Originally posted by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy | January 17, 2019 | Original Article

Today, Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced the launch of a Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize and the establishment of an associated Battery Recycling R&D Center. These efforts aim to reclaim and recycle critical materials (e.g., cobalt and lithium) from lithium-based battery technology used in consumer electronics, defense, energy storage, and transportation applications.

“America’s dependence on foreign sources of critical materials undermines our energy security and national security,” said Perry. “DOE will leverage the power of competition and the resources of the private sector, universities, and the National Laboratories to develop innovative recycling technologies, which will bolster economic growth, strengthen our energy security, and improve the environment.”

Critical materials such as lithium and cobalt are both expensive and dependent on foreign sources for production. The President’s Executive Order 13817 identifies the need for “developing critical minerals recycling and reprocessing technologies” as part of a broader strategy to “ensure secure and reliable supplies of critical minerals.”

The goal of Recycling Prize and R&D Center is to develop technologies to profitably capture 90% of all lithium based battery technologies in the United States. Currently, lithium-ion batteries are collected and recycled at a rate of less than 5%.

Read the full article on the EERE Website.