Contactless cell opening of lithium-ion pouch cells and reuse of pouch foil within the direct recycling approach

The current developments on the European level in terms of creating a circular economy in the electromobility sector not only require highly efficient and long-lasting battery technologies but also efficient recycling technologies.^[1]
In the case of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the focus should thereby not only be set on the highest commercial value materials but rather on the entire product life cycle and value chain.^[2-3] Otherwise, a large amount of battery mass, like the cell casing, is not recovered and ends as waste or in the better case as burning material, e.g. in the pyrometallurgy process. A controlled disassembly could recover those parts as well as increase the recycling efficiency due to greater purity material streams. Besides the already industrialized pyro- and hydrometallurgy recycling methods in which shredding followed by fractional separation or burning are the favored LIB disposal routes, the controlled dismantling is one main part in the newer direct recycling approach.^[4]&nbsp“;“Herein, we present the latest results of a new disassembly technique developed within the IDcycLIB project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The objective is the contactless cell opening by use of a precise electro-magnetic field applied directly onto the pouch bag sealing seams. The direct and repeatable reusability of the pouch foils from the pouch bag battery cells will thereby be enabled by adjusted process parameters. The unnecessity of additives during this process guarantees the compatibility with standard industry pouch cells without the need of changes in the production process. Furthermore, the scalability and complete automatability of the presented process is later expected to be realized by the application of a robotic assisted set-up.