WHY RECYCLE

Old batteries are ore

⛏️

💎

Valuable

Lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and aluminium

☣️

Hazardous

Flammable, toxic and a fire risk in rubbish trucks

📜

Required

Rules such as the EU Battery Regulation set recycling and recycled-content targets

A mine of used batteries is richer than many natural ores.

RECYCLE A PACK

From pack to powder to metal

Most recycling routes start by turning cells into a fine black powder, then pull the metals out of it.

Black mass in, battery-grade metals out.

THREE ROUTES

Fire, acid or direct

Pyrometallurgy Smelt in a furnace: robust, but lithium and aluminium end up in slag

Hydrometallurgy Dissolve black mass in acid and precipitate each metal: high recovery

Direct recycling Rejuvenate the cathode powder without breaking it down: still emerging

Hydrometallurgy is the main route today; direct recycling may be next.

SECOND LIFE

Before recycling, reuse

🔁

A car pack at 70–80% capacity can still be useful for gentler jobs such as storing solar power at home or at a charging station. Testing, sorting and repackaging old cells is a growing business.

Use it, reuse it, then recycle it.

WHAT'S NEXT

Where batteries are heading

🚀

💰

Cheaper

LFP and sodium-ion pushing pack prices down

⚡

Denser

Silicon, lithium metal and solid-state for more range

🤖

Smarter

Better models and AI for design, testing and managing packs

Batteries are now one of the biggest products in materials science and manufacturing.

UNIT 21 STUDY COMPLETE

♻️

Ready for the Fab Challenge?

You've followed a pack through recycling and looked at where battery technology is heading. Course complete!