Grant: Alliance Grants
McMaster University
$370,000.00
Assessing the Circular Economy for Endangered Elements Needed in Lithium Ion Batteries: Advanced Characterization of Recycled Materials and LIB Performance
FY 2023-24
Summary
Our team brings together established materials scientists with particular expertise in world-class characterization strategies that are suitable for characterizing the solid-state materials that make up today's lithium ion batteries (LIBs). We aim to apply these techniques to recycled materials including the critical minerals lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite. Our team has a strong track record of collaboration and co-publication in the area of LIB materials, as well as successful industrial partnerships with companies including General Motors, Salient Energy, GBatteries and most recently, Li-Cycle. There is an urgent need for recycling strategies that recover valuable minerals utilized in LIBs. Characterization of recycled battery materials and their performance, evaluated at the molecular scale, are the primary focus of this proposal. The newly formed McMaster team will be known as Re-Batt-CARE, for Recycled-Battery Characterization for Resource-Recovery Efficiency. Materials provided by Li-Cycle from their resource-recovery streams will be characterized by the the Re-Batt-CARE team using methods including electrochemical performance and advanced diffraction, microscopy, tomography, spectroscopy and magnetic resonance.Li-Cycle was founded in Kingston Ontario in 2016 and became a publicly traded company in 2021. Their process is hydrometallurgical and aims to be environmentally friendly, energy efficient, and sustainable. Student in the program will meet regularly for joint-team meetings with our industrial partners through video conference calls, where they will present their recent data. The HQP will be trained in materials science and electrochemistry as well as state-of-the-art characterization strategies. They will have exceptional access to equipment and experts to provide a unique cross-disciplinary integrated training environment. Students may also have the opportunity to spend internships with Li-Cycle and learn about the industrial scale processes necessary to generate the recovered black matter that is the first step in the circular economy of the LIBs.
Program
Alliance Grants
Recipient
Location
Ontario, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
586712-2023
Name nom
Goward, Gillian R
Department département
Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Organization id
27
Institution établissement
McMaster University
Province en
Ontario
Province fr
Ontario
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2023
Competition year année de concours
2023
Award amount
370000
Program id
ALLRP
Program name en
Alliance Grants
Program name fr
Subventions Alliance
Group en
RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
Group fr
PARTENARIATS DE RECHERCHE
Committee code
96
Committee name en
RPP Internal Decision Cttee
Committee name fr
Cté de décision interne - PPR
Area of application code
1208
Area of application group en
Advancement of knowledge
Area of application group fr
Avancement des connaissances
Area of application en
Materials sciences
Area of application fr
Sciences des matériaux
Research subject code
3401
Research subject group en
Physical chemistry
Research subject group fr
Electrochemistry
Research subject en
Chimie physique
Research subject fr
Électrochimie
Application title
Assessing the Circular Economy for Endangered Elements Needed in Lithium Ion Batteries: Advanced Characterization of Recycled Materials and LIB Performance
Keyword
Electrochemistry; Electron Microscopy & Spectroscopy; Endangered Elements; Lithium Ion Batteries; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance; Operando Characterization Methods; Recycled Electrode Materials; Solid-State NMR; Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction; X-ray Computed Tomography
Application summary
Our team brings together established materials scientists with particular expertise in world-class characterization strategies that are suitable for characterizing the solid-state materials that make up today's lithium ion batteries (LIBs). We aim to apply these techniques to recycled materials including the critical minerals lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite. Our team has a strong track record of collaboration and co-publication in the area of LIB materials, as well as successful industrial partnerships with companies including General Motors, Salient Energy, GBatteries and most recently, Li-Cycle. There is an urgent need for recycling strategies that recover valuable minerals utilized in LIBs. Characterization of recycled battery materials and their performance, evaluated at the molecular scale, are the primary focus of this proposal. The newly formed McMaster team will be known as Re-Batt-CARE, for Recycled-Battery Characterization for Resource-Recovery Efficiency. Materials provided by Li-Cycle from their resource-recovery streams will be characterized by the the Re-Batt-CARE team using methods including electrochemical performance and advanced diffraction, microscopy, tomography, spectroscopy and magnetic resonance.Li-Cycle was founded in Kingston Ontario in 2016 and became a publicly traded company in 2021. Their process is hydrometallurgical and aims to be environmentally friendly, energy efficient, and sustainable. Student in the program will meet regularly for joint-team meetings with our industrial partners through video conference calls, where they will present their recent data. The HQP will be trained in materials science and electrochemistry as well as state-of-the-art characterization strategies. They will have exceptional access to equipment and experts to provide a unique cross-disciplinary integrated training environment. Students may also have the opportunity to spend internships with Li-Cycle and learn about the industrial scale processes necessary to generate the recovered black matter that is the first step in the circular economy of the LIBs.
