Hardware Podcasts

The world of battery recycling

Catalyst · 4 Apr 2024 · 36m

What this episode covers

Dr. Dan Steingart, chair of the Earth and Environmental Engineering Department at Columbia University, explains the technical and economic realities of battery recycling, noting that current feedstock is dominated by gigafactory scrap rather than end-of-life batteries. He contrasts pyrometallurgy with hydrometallurgy, highlighting Redwood Materials' focus on securing feedstock, Ascend Elements' hydro-to-cathode process, and Li-Cycle's conservative approach to producing metal sulfates. Steingart argues that recycling is largely a low-margin tolling operation due to commodity price volatility, though he identifies direct recycling as a potential future pathway for LFP batteries.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Redwood Materials, Ascend Elements, Li-Cycle, Northvolt, Tesla, GM, Ford, Stellantis, Rio Tinto, Vale, Energy Hub, Bloom Energy

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