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Singapore startups taking a crack at recycling lithium batteries

Coming up with less pollutive methods will boost the sustainability of electric vehicles

Sharanya Pillai

Sharanya Pillai

Published Wed, Jun 22, 2022 · 05:50 AM
    • Kenneth Palmer (left) and Bryan Oh of NEU Battery Materials with the battery-grade lithium hydroxide from recycling batteries.
    • Leon Farrant, co-founder and chief executive of Green Li-ion, which "rejuvenates" lithium batteries.
    • Green Li-ion has sold 8 of its proprietary machines for recycling lithium batteries.
    • Kenneth Palmer (left) and Bryan Oh of NEU Battery Materials with the battery-grade lithium hydroxide from recycling batteries. PHOTO: NEU BATTERY MATERIALS
    • Leon Farrant, co-founder and chief executive of Green Li-ion, which "rejuvenates" lithium batteries. PHOTO: GREEN LI-ION
    • Green Li-ion has sold 8 of its proprietary machines for recycling lithium batteries. PHOTO: GREEN LI-ION

    THERE’S a dirty truth behind supposedly clean electric vehicles (EVs): the lithium batteries they run on can’t be easily recycled.

    Current methods include smelting – which involves high-temperature extraction – or leaching with acids. These processes are energy-intensive, costly and can also produce pollutive substances.

    Many companies have therefore opted not to recycle – globally, only 5 per cent of the world’s lithium batteries are recycled.

    Electric vehiclesStartups

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