A Hong Kong-based startup has developed a cost-effective system to recover precious materials from lithium batteries.
As the South China Morning Post detailed, Achelous Pure Metals can process more than 165 tons of used non-electric vehicle batteries annually, transforming metals like lithium, copper, cobalt, nickel, and manganese into a powdery "black mass," from which it can recover valuable materials like lithium carbonate — often referred to as "white gold."
As the startup explains on its website, recycling rates for rare-earth minerals can be as low as 5%, representing a significant amount of lost economic value. Recycling also reduces the need for mining, minimizing the opportunity for toxic contamination.
For its part, lithium carbonate has a wide range of applications, and it is used in lithium iron phosphate batteries, or LFPs, for electric vehicles and in battery storage solutions that ensure clean, non-polluting power is available even if the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing.
In China, most EVs rely on LFPs, which are generally less expensive to manufacture. Ultimately, having a more cost-effective battery could help lower sales prices for consumers, accelerating a transition to a more eco-friendly mode of transport that provides long-term financial perks.
Achelous Pure Metals' patent-pending robot-assisted system shreds and sifts the materials via a vacuum/heat treatment process that prevents harmful compounds and gases like epoxy adhesives (a corrosive irritant) and fluorine (which can cause organ damage) from escaping.
"Our goal is to tackle the growing problem of discarded lithium-ion batteries by bringing scalable, movable, eco-friendly recycling to urban centers starting in Hong Kong, with plans to expand to [Southeast] Asia," co-founder and technical director Alan Wong Yuk-chun told the SCMP, adding that most EV batteries are collected and exported at the end of their lives.
The company has already brought its recycling solutions to a client in eastern China's Jiangsu province. That facility can process more than 11,000 tons of battery materials each year.
Recycling overcapacity in China and trade tensions with the United States that could reduce the demand for lithium batteries are among the factors threatening to slow down the company's expansion, per the SCMP.
However, the five-year-old startup has addressed this by opening "micro-factories" in China to produce black mass and has reached out to potential partners in Hong Kong's security industry to recycle spent lithium batteries from handheld transceivers. It is also considering a program to recycle unwanted electronics from Malaysia and Singapore.
|
💡Solar quotes you can trust
Want to go solar but not sure who to trust? EnergySage has your back with free and transparent quotes from fully vetted providers in your area. To get started, just answer a few questions about your home — no phone number required. Within a day or two, EnergySage will email you the best options for your needs, and their expert advisers can help you compare quotes and pick a winner.
The Cool Down may receive a commission on signups made through links on this page, but we only promote partners we vet and believe in. For more cool tips like this one, check out our solutions marketplace here.
|
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
"We want to help [our] partners meet their future recycled content obligations and set up a system to keep track of the materials' footprint for compliance," Achelous co-founder and research and development director Shawn Cheng said.
|
What factor would make you most likely to get an induction stove? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Energy savings 💰 
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
