New method recovers cobalt and nickel from NMC batteries

The method, developed by a team led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Xiao Su, is said to produce final product purities of approximately 96.4 per cent and 94.1 per cent for cobalt and nickel, respectively, from spent NMC electrode wastes.

Published in Nature Communications, the new method could make spent batteries a highly sustainable secondary source of the two metals.

According to Su, cobalt and nickel have similar electrochemical properties – or standard reduction potentials – making it challenging for chemists to recover pure forms of each metal from battery electrodes.

“There are a variety of methods available for the recovery of cobalt and nickel from battery electrodes, but they have drawbacks,” Su said in a statement. “Most require energy-intensive high-temperature processes or strong solvents that present disposal challenges. The industry demands methods that will not cause additional problems like high energy consumption or toxic waste.”

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UIUC state that the unique aspect of this study is the development of a tuneable liquid electrolyte and polymer coating on the electrodes.