American Manganese released preliminary life cycle assessment (LCA) results for its lithium-ion battery recycling-upcycling process, from sustainability and life cycle assessment consultancy, Minviro.

In 2021, American Manganese received patents concerning their lithium-ion battery cathode recycling process (RecycLiCoTM) after producing lithium sulphate (Li2SO4) with 99.99% purity, 99% manganese extraction producing electrolytic manganese metal (EMM), and the upcycling of a lithium-ion battery black mass into NMC-811 cathode precursor, using the RecycLiCoTM closed-loop process.

Minviro assessed the environmental impacts of producing NMC (nickel-manganese- cobalt oxide) cathode precursors and LiOH from recycled and upcycled battery waste using the patented closed-loop RecycLiCo™ process. The preliminary results indicate that the RecycLiCo™ process has an overall lower environmental impact when compared to primary material production or common hydrometallurgical lithium-ion battery recycling processes.

Battery recycling will be an essential source of feedstock – and critical materials such as cobalt, lithium, and manganese – for the lithium-ion supply chain in the face of constrained supply and expected high demand.  The International Energy Agency estimates that the amounts of end-of-life or spent lithium-ion batteries, expressed in gigawatt-hours (GWh), will increase from approximately 400GWh in 2035 to 1,300GWh in 2040. As such, it is vitally important to evidence that the processes used for recycling are an improvement on traditional mining and processing in terms of ESG impact.  Some current recycling technologies have high operating costs, high energy consumption, and may have detrimental environmental impacts. Thus, the preliminary LCA results are extremely encouraging for American Manganese and highlight the important work that Minviro is doing.