Abstract
In recent years, the production of high voltage batteries is gaining importance due to the speed at which various products are requiring electrification, causing a prediction that the demand for such batteries will increase a considerable amount. Among the variation of high voltage batteries, Lithium-ion batteries (LiB) are one of the most promising candidates and already widely used in hybrid vehicles (HEV).
In 2023, a decade after HEV were first introduced to the global market, these products are now reaching the end-of-life stage and are predicted to be disposed of in huge quantities. In order to avoid the environmental and resource risks caused by this massive disposal of LiB contained inside those vehicles, Honda is collaborating with Matsuda Sangyo Co., Ltd. and Japan Metals & Chemicals Co., Ltd under the guidance of Professor Shibata from Tohoku University to develop a recycling technology. This new technology will dismantle-separate-recover rare metals such as Nickel (Ni) and Cobalt (Co) in their alloy form using low cost, low energy methods. The development of this recycling technology is the main topic of the study presented in this paper.
