RecycLiCo Announces LCA Results Confirming Lower Environmental Impact In Comparison To Other Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Solutions

This past July, heat waves across Europe and North America shattered records and contributed to a number of wildfires. For the first time on record, temperatures in Britain reached above 40 degrees Celsius (or 104 Fahrenheit). Many experts point to man-made climate change as major contributing factors.

It’s safe to say that the world is looking for carbon-neutral and zero-emissions solutions now more than ever. One of the most promising solutions for consumer products is electric vehicles, and they seem to be catching on quite quickly. By 2030, it’s estimated that there will be 230 million electric vehicles driving on roads around the globe. And the majority of them will rely on one critical source, lithium-ion batteries. 

In fact, the lithium-ion battery market size is expected to be worth $182.53 billion by 2030 - that’s a ton of batteries! It’s also why motor giants like Tesla Inc. TSLA and General Motors Co. GM have invested in lithium battery production as a way to optimize their companies’ supply chains.

One company, American Manganese Inc. doing business as RecycLiCo Battery Materials AMYZF, has stated its mission is to develop an innovative, sustainable solution for this next-generation energy source. RecycLiCo Battery Materials, is focused on lithium-ion battery recycling solutions through its RecycLiCo™ patented process.

The company claims to have seen a number of successes as of late, especially in terms of their scientific and operational developments. 

Most recently, RecycLiCo Battery Materials announced the results of a life cycle assessment (LCA) completed by Minviro Ltd., a UK-based and globally recognized sustainability and life cycle assessment consultancy, on the company’s lithium-ion battery recycling-upcycling process.

An LCA is a standardized, scientific method for quantifying the direct and embodied environmental impacts associated with a particular product or process, especially in consideration of CO2 emissions.

According to Larry Reaugh, the President and CEO of RecycLiCo Battery Materials, “I am pleased to report that the LCA results confirm RecycLiCo’s lower environmental impact to produce NMC precursor and lithium hydroxide, when compared to primary raw material extraction methods or competing hydrometallurgical recycling.”

“To collectively achieve true decarbonization as an industry, we must not cut corners at any stage of the lithium-ion battery supply chain and should instead recognize the most efficient and environmentally friendly technologies as an industry benchmark.”

The LCA report assesses the global warming potential of RecycLiCo’s process against competing hydrometallurgical recycling methods, on the basis of producing one kilogram of NMC precursor material. The LCA report found that competing hydrometallurgical recycling methods likely produce 166% more CO2 equivalent emissions when compared to the company’s RecycLiCo process. This figure is equivalent to the amount of emissions made by 3,700 vehicles in a year on average.

Minviro also found that the RecycLiCo process, when compared against the industry average for primary extraction methods (i.e. mining), results in a 35% reduction in CO2 equivalent emissions and a 74% reduction for lithium hydroxide production.

You can read further details on the report here. 

RecycLiCo’s LCA also underwent a critical review by independent, third-party experts to assert the findings. The LCA was carried out with a combination of data provided by RecycLiCo and public databases.

Learn more about RecycLiCo Battery Materials and their critical metal solutions here.

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Featured photo from RecycLiCo Battery Materials