Re-energising EV battery recycling to support a low carbon future

Around the world, the demand for rechargeable lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) is growing fast. That’s because under existing climate policies, there’s an international push to rapidly increase the number of electric cars on the road as a way to reach net-zero emissions.  

But an LFP battery’s use fades when it reaches the end of its life. Once discarded in a landfill, its cells can leach toxic waste materials, including heavy metals. To compound the problem, the waste stream is likely to get worse as more EVs hit the road. The International Energy Agency predicts that by 2040, two-thirds of all worldwide car sales will be electric, potentially generating a massive 1,300 gigawatt hours of LFP waste batteries annually.  

“Batteries are crucial for a low-carbon future, so we need to find an effective recycling solution now. It’s also in everyone’s interests to make sure that the recycling process is safe and sustainable – which is why we’ve created a way to achieve just that,” says Bryan Oh, co-founder and CEO of Singapore start-up NEU Battery Materials.  

Bryan Oh in Neu Battery Material’s pilot facility.

NEU Battery Materials has come up with a novel LFP battery recycling solution that builds on research initially conducted at the National University of Singapore (NUS) by a team led by Professor Wang Qing. Here, electrochemical redox targeting technology is harnessed to extract the lithium from spent LFP battery cells.  
“Recovering raw materials from these batteries is typically a complex undertaking that involves smelting or bleaching, along with multiple purification stages. But as our process relies on electricity, we can avoid all that. We also use regenerative chemicals in place of harsh acids,” Oh says.  

Once the batteries have been crushed into black mass and placed in a reactor, the NEU Battery Materials’ solution extracts the lithium in the form of lithium hydroxide. The process also generates hydrogen as a byproduct.

Once the black mass is mixed with Neu Battery Materials’ concoction of chemicals, the liquid is passed through these tubes and into the next phase to obtain lithium and hydrogen byproducts.

“Our method allows us to produce high-purity, battery-grade lithium with a focus on near-zero waste and minimal emissions. The raw material can then be recycled back into manufacturing supply chains, rather than ending up as landfill waste.” says Oh. 

Unlike other battery types, LFP batteries don’t contain sought-after and expensive raw materials such as nickel and cobalt, so in the past there has been less incentive to recycle them. But NEU Battery Materials believes that because its solution is so cost-effective, recycling LFP batteries can now become more of a profitable undertaking compared with existing recycling technologies.  

Its approach is especially timely given that lithium prices are predicted to keep rising as demand outstrips supply. This means there is a growing need for alternative sources of the raw material to sustain the EV industry’s growth.  

Black mass (left) is turned into pure lithium, in the glass bottle.

Finding solutions to tricky problems is a talent Oh shares with his NEU Battery Materials co-founder and CTO, Kenneth Palmer. The pair first met as NUS undergraduates when Oh was studying for a degree in business administration and Palmer was training to be a mechanical engineer.  

“Kenneth helped me design my first start-up, PortaLockers – a portable storage solution for use at outdoor events – which we launched in 2019,” Oh recalls.  

But in 2020, when pandemic-related lockdowns ground most events to a halt, PortaLockers was forced to close. Undaunted, the pair began seeking a new entrepreneurial challenge. An interest in vertical farming led them to design a solar-powered hydroponic system to help urban farmers grow vegetables – even in tightly confined spaces.  

The project proved to be a turning point for the pair and sparked an interest to continue creating solutions with sustainability at its core.  

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Later that year, Oh and Palmer began work with the NUS Graduate Research Innovation Programme, where they first connected with Professor Wang and heard about his research. “We just saw huge potential for developing a battery recycling solution that could meet the needs of the EV market in a clean and sustainable way. We invited Professor Wang to team up with us as our technical advisor and in June 2021, NEU Battery Materials was born,” Oh says. 

Fast forward to 2023 and the company has launched a pilot site in Singapore within the premises of Secure Waste Management, a battery-crushing specialist. But what are the main hurdles the fledgling firm has had to overcome in its commercialisation journey so far?  

As Oh explains, developing the leadership skills required to drive a rapidly growing business has been a profound learning curve. “As a founder, you have to develop the grit and self-belief to constantly push boundaries every day – your own as well as those of your team. It’s also really important to make sure you take time to pause, step back and review any situation through a wider lens, so you can make the right business decisions.” 

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Scaling up from a lab to a commercial operation has been another challenge: “We’ve had to develop a different methodology and process so we could extract the lithium in larger quantities. That’s also meant we needed to upgrade our equipment. Today, we’re working hard to refine our technology – it’s an ongoing process of trial and error, but we’re learning fast and moving forward,” he adds.  

Building relationships with the right players in the value chain has been vital. Thanks to a partnership with Secure Waste Management, the start-up is receiving a steady stream of the used battery feedstock it needs to refine its solution. Oh is also seeking to form new partnerships with EV original equipment manufacturers and battery manufacturers who can advance the firm’s solution across the global transport sector.  

A further hurdle has been finding the right talent in a relatively niche field. “SGInnovate has done a great job helping us scout for talent – as a small start-up, we don’t have an HR department, so that support has been super useful. In fact, we’ve had a lot of support from across the Deep Tech ecosystem here in Singapore. People say it takes a village to raise a kid. But it definitely takes 10 or 20 villages to raise one start-up!” Oh jokes.  

The Neu Battery Materials team.

Looking ahead, the founders have ambitious plans to expand into new markets while also enhancing the capabilities of the Singapore facility. “Our current objective is to automate our process line. This will help us reduce operational manpower while allowing us to scale,” Oh says. 

In the longer term, the vision is for the NEU Battery Materials’ Singapore facility to operate as a global innovation hub. 

In Oh’s words: “We firmly believe our solution can make a big difference to offsetting global pollution and creating a clean and sustainable EV industry. That’s super motivating for our team – we want to put Singapore on the map as having one of the most innovative battery recycling technologies in the world.” 

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