University of Aveiro
The University of Aveiro, established in 1973, stands out as a leading institution in Portugal, renowned for its dedicated focus on advancing science, technology, and engineering. In an effort to confront the pressing challenges related to end-of-life batteries, the university has partnered with the REVITALISE consortium.
This collaboration aims to significantly mitigate environmental impacts through several key strategies: reducing reliance on harmful chemicals, minimizing the production of hazardous effluents, and enhancing the process of metal separation by utilizing innovative, eco-friendly solvents.
NTNU
NTNU is an international oriented university with headquarters in Trondheim and campuses in Gjøvik and Ålesund. NTNU has a main profile in science and technology, a variety of programmes of professional study, and great academic breadth that also includes the humanities, social sciences, economics, medicine, health sciences, educational science, architecture, entrepreneurship, art disciplines and artistic activities. The university's root goes back to 1760 with the foundation of Det Trondhiemske Selskab (Trondheim Academy). A merger in 2016 made NTNU Norway's largest single university.
Within REVITALISE NTNU is in charge of coordinating the overall project and developing hydrometallurgy based process flowsheets for delivering holistic solution for green, low-cost, and low environmental impact recycling of NMC (especially high Ni content) and LFP batteries. .
REELEMENTS
The REELEMENTS recycling process is highly efficient and quick for recycling lithium-ion batteries. After treating the batteries, the active materials of the cathode can be sent back to the production process without having to break them down further into their individual components. Accordingly, the process can also be used for industrial production rejects.
Within REVITALISE, REELEMENTS is the pre-treatment specialist company, and brings its expertise to the consortium.
VERKOR
Verkor was founded in 2020 with the sole ambition of fast-tracking low‑carbon battery production in France, to serve the European market. With a team of international experts in the battery sector, Verkor strives for manufacturing excellence by optimising proven technology. Verkor’s greatest asset is its human capital. Today, the team comprises some 540 experts from 43 different countries who are using their multidisciplinary talents to build an innovative project on a European scale.
Verkor is one of the industrial partners in REVITALISE, in charge of the validation and valorisation of the technology produced within the project.
MEET - University of Münster
Münster Electrochemical Energy Technology (MEET) at the University of Münster is one of the foremost battery research centers in Germany and one of the leading drivers of top-level research internationally. Around 150 researchers from a wide range of disciplines working on sustainable batteries of the future.
MEET will work on the ultrasonification of the project materials as well as the particle characterization. Another topic is the characterization of the waste water.
EURECAT
EURECAT is one of the largest private research organisations in southern Europe, with 62ME income in 2023, 2000 client companies, 200 patents, and more than 170 H2020 and Horizon Europe projects, 38 of them as coordinators. It has several years of experience in the battery recycling field, focusing on sustainable recycling technologies and new battery prototype recyclability. This experience also involves Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) of electric batteries recycling technologies among others industrial processes and technologies.
Consequently, drawing on its expertise and aligned with the European Objectives, e.g. Green Deal, EURECAT aims to contribute to a more sustainable future through a life cycle perspective applied to the environment, economy, and social aspects.
Finally, EURECAT is currently involved in the Batteries European Partnership Association (BEPA).
ICONIQ INNOVATION
Iconiq Innovation is an enterprise with businesses based in Ireland, Spain and the UK with an expanding team spread across Europe. Iconiq provides business consultancy services, covering the entire innovation spectrum from idea conception through to commercialisation, that include securing R&D funding and helping deliver and maximise the impact of project outcomes. Our team includes seasoned Project Managers, scientific writers and experts in a wide range of topics to cover the complexity of the current R&D landscape.
Within REVITALISE, Iconiq will carry out Innovation Management tasks and contribute to communication, dissemination, exploitation activities.
WATERCYCLE TECHNOLOGIES
Watercycle Technologies (WT) is a company based in the UK with a focus on fabricating advanced membranes and innovative filtration systems to produce valuable minerals and clean water. With a strong ethics-based business model, Watercycle is positioned to deliver profitable commercial solutions centred on sustainability, environmental protection, and remediation. Its experienced R&D team, led by Dr Seb Leaper and Dr Ahmed Abdelkarim, is targeting industries including mining, desalination, and wastewater streams.
WT role in REVITALISE is mainly to extract lithium and graphite from the different spent batteries by innovative hydrometallurgical methods. In addition, WT is responsible for the water remediation approach in which maximum water recovery to be achieved alongside the extraction of the valuable minerals from the waste streams.
UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
The Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage, under the leadership of Professors Emma Kendrick and Peter Slater from the University of Birmingham, has extensive experience in developing electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices. The centre has been working towards developing cost-effective methods for reclaiming and recycling lithium-ion batteries.
Through the REVITALISE project, the centre aims at improving the recyclability of battery materials. The research team at Birmingham will utilize their expertise to create sustainable processes for recycling battery materials, which includes reusing and remanufacturing battery active material using direct recycling.