Energy
New tech pulls lithium from dead batteries cheaper than you can buy it
By Michael Franco
November 30, 2025
https://newatlas.com/energy/lithium-battery-recapture/
Excerpts:
... .. When it comes to energy storage in rechargeable batteries, it's hard to beat lithium. As the lightest metal on the period table, it has an impressive energy density. It also sheds electrons more easily than any other metal, meaning it has the highest electrochemical potential. Additionally, it excels at storing and releasing energy repeatedly. ... .So, to find other sources of the material, scientists have been turning to lithium-ion batteries that have reached the end of their lifespan, yet still have perfectly usable amounts of the metal inside. ... Enter the new technique from scientists ...
To harvest the lithium, the team developed a special electrode created from a copolymer consisting of molecules that attach to lithium and those that respond to an electrical current. When placed inside the brine and electrified, it sucked only lithium from the solution like a sponge, leaving other metals behind.
Not only was the method effective ... the researchers say the method is much more affordable than other battery-based lithium-harvesting techniques, costing about US$12.70 per kilogram of lithium recovered. That's in comparison to acid leaching, which runs about $81-462 per kilogram and produces chemical waste, and high-heat smelting, which costs $36-126 per kilogram and is more inefficient at separating out lithium from other elements.
Based on these findings, the team says its method could be the first commercially viable way to recapture lithium from dead batteries. ... .. "We envision this work helping establish a more circular, sustainable supply chain for lithium, enhancing supply security and potentially reducing the environmental impacts associated with other forms of lithium extraction, such as mining." .... ..
The study has been published in the journal ACS Energy Letters.
Read full article:
https://newatlas.com/energy/lithium-battery-recapture/