09/05/2025
The last consortium meeting of the RHINOCEROS project included a session dedicated to ongoing clustering activities, which was online attended by the RESTORE project coordinator, Christophe Aucher, Area Manager Energy Storage at LEITAT. The objective of this initiative is to introduce the two EU-funded projects, both focusing on advancing battery material treatment and recycling technologies. Both projects are members of the Cluster Hub “Production of raw materials for batteries from European resources”.
The RESTORE project introduced its approach to treat black mass – from sorting to discharging, retrieving all available materials and validating them in a coin battery. This concept aligns closely with the philosophy of the RHINOCEROS project, emphasising the importance of contactless sorting and efficient battery discharge processes. The aim of RESTORE is to remove cables and discharge batteries within 40 minutes, which would bring a big step towards more efficient recycling processes.
During the event, representatives of both projects addressed various industry challenges. One major issue is the profitability of selling black mass to states outside of EU, compared to the domestic scenario for producing electrodes. Additionally, the European market faces a slowdown in battery production, showing citizens preference for hybrid cars over electric vehicles. Nevertheless, both sides agreed on the need for critical raw materials, indispensable to emerging industrial sectors, underscoring the importance of sustainable and efficient recycling processes.
The RESTORE project introduced several technological advancements, including the KYBURTZ cell-to-electrode direct recycling method developed by VITO. This method aims to streamline the recycling process and enhance the quality of recovered materials.
Although the two projects share similar objectives and consortium partners, technical questions were not missing, addressing mainly the electrochemical recovery of lithium, the impact of the aqueous media on the quality of retrieved material and the potential to work in batch mode.
This first online encounter of RHINOCEROS and RESTORE sparks a lot of curiosity, key ingredient of innovation and technological advancement. Prospects already show opportunities to stimulate collaborations and knowledge exchange in the battery recycling R&I field.
