Another key RENOVATE milestone achieved: Validation and upscale of cathode active materials (CAMs) recovery technologies!

The RENOVATE consortium starts 2026 by reaching a major milestone in its mission to develop circular and chemistry-neutral solutions for battery recycling. This achievement marks significant progress in designing green solvo- and soft-hydrometallurgical routes to recover critical raw materials from rich-chemistry batteries using processes that can also be easily adapted to sodium-ion batteries.

UNIPV and UNIMIB partners have optimised the use of green agents, including ternary deep eutectic solvents (DES) and natural organic acids — to extract lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt from cathode active materials recovered from end‑of‑life lithium‑ion battery black mass.

Through careful experimental design, partners identified the optimal composition of the green leaching agents and the best operational parameters. The most efficient process conditions were found to be low leaching temperatures and short processing times. Under these conditions, the green leaching approach enabled the recovery of more than 95% of lithium and over 99% of nickel, cobalt and manganese. The process was successfully scaled up to 1L reactor level, achieving excellent recovery rates without any loss in efficiency.

The extracted metals were then processed to produce precursors suitable for synthesising new cathode active material (CAM). A solid precipitating agent was used, avoiding any additional consumption of water or solvents. New cathodes were subsequently produced using a blend of commercial and re‑synthesised CAM, demonstrating functional performance comparable to commercial materials.

This milestone represents a significant step forward for RENOVATE, bringing the project closer to closing the loop in the battery value chain. It demonstrates that sustainable recycling processes can deliver high‑quality materials suitable for reuse in advanced battery applications, a core objective at the heart of RENOVATE’s vision.