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recycling?","what-are-the-challenges-and-opportunities-of-graphite-recycling","article/what-are-the-challenges-and-opportunities-of-graphite-recycling",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":559,"content":569,"excerpt":844,"featured":51,"reporter":845,"_editable":849,"component":850,"seo_title":543,"categories":851,"visibility":864,"author_company":49,"featured_image":865,"seo_description":844,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":870,"formattedArticleDate":871},"a52c73ba-bd31-45b9-ae27-82044ff1f593","2024-09-03 00:00",[550,553,556],{"slug":551,"name":552},"altilium-metals","Altilium Metals",{"slug":554,"name":555},"fortum","Fortum",{"slug":557,"name":558},"talga","Talga",[560],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":563},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":564,"image":565,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":566},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":570,"content":571},"doc",[572,589,594,607,620,627,632,651,656,669,681,694,699,704,709,714,727,732,737,742,747,752,757,762,767,772,777,782,787,792,812,829,834,839],{"type":573,"attrs":574,"content":575},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[576,579,587],{"text":577,"type":578},"Graphite accounts for up to a quarter of the weight of a battery cell, but the value of this material is typically not recovered when a ","text",{"text":580,"type":578,"marks":581},"battery is recycled",[582],{"type":583,"attrs":584},"link",{"href":585,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":586},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/western-battery-scrap-to-account-for-over-third-of-global-pool-by-2035","url",{"text":588,"type":578},".",{"type":573,"attrs":590,"content":591},{"textAlign":49},[592],{"text":593,"type":578},"Very few commercial-scale recyclers extract graphite in a form suitable to reuse in a battery, meaning new batteries require virgin graphite to be mined.",{"type":573,"attrs":595,"content":596},{"textAlign":49},[597,599,605],{"text":598,"type":578},"Almost ",{"text":600,"type":578,"marks":601},"three-quarters of flake graphite is mined in China",[602],{"type":583,"attrs":603},{"href":604,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":586},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/how-much-of-the-global-battery-supply-chain-is-owned-by-chinese-companies",{"text":606,"type":578}," and 94% of uncoated spherical graphite is produced in the country, though other regions are beginning to develop domestic graphite supply chains. As such, extracting graphite from the recycling process presents an opportunity to reduce reliance on a single country.",{"type":573,"attrs":608,"content":609},{"textAlign":49},[610,612,618],{"text":611,"type":578},"“The current incentive for graphite recycling is to reduce China’s monopoly on the graphite supply by creating localised secondary sources for graphite,” Alex Sargent, a ",{"text":613,"type":578,"marks":614},"recycling analyst",[615],{"type":583,"attrs":616},{"href":617,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":586},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/recycling/data-reports/forecast/",{"text":619,"type":578}," at Benchmark, said.",{"type":621,"attrs":622,"content":624},"heading",{"level":623,"textAlign":49},4,[625],{"text":626,"type":578},"The challenges of graphite recycling",{"type":573,"attrs":628,"content":629},{"textAlign":49},[630],{"text":631,"type":578},"Graphite recovery is not possible with pyrometallurgical recycling systems as the material is burnt off during the process. However most new recycling developments use hydrometallurgical methods which, in theory, allow for graphite recovery.",{"type":573,"attrs":633,"content":634},{"textAlign":49},[635,640,647],{"text":636,"type":578,"marks":637},"Watch Benchmark Source’s ",[638],{"type":639},"italic",{"text":641,"type":578,"marks":642},"Battery Recycling 101",[643,646],{"type":583,"attrs":644},{"href":645,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":586},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/battery-recycling-101",{"type":639},{"text":648,"type":578,"marks":649},":",[650],{"type":639},{"type":573,"attrs":652,"content":653},{"textAlign":49},[654],{"text":655,"type":578},"There are two primary concerns that limit the commercial recovery of graphite from scrap batteries by recyclers: cost and quality.",{"type":573,"attrs":657,"content":658},{"textAlign":49},[659,661,667],{"text":660,"type":578},"The cost of recovering the graphite must be ",{"text":662,"type":578,"marks":663},"low enough to be recouped by such low prices",[664],{"type":583,"attrs":665},{"href":666,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":586},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/recycling-industry-margins-squeezed-by-low-virgin-material-prices",{"text":668,"type":578},", whereas the comparatively higher prices for the battery metals make recovering lithium, nickel, or cobalt financially more viable.",{"type":573,"attrs":670,"content":671},{"textAlign":49},[672,674,680],{"text":673,"type":578},"A tonne of uncoated spherical graphite suitable for use in a battery anode is currently priced at $2,100 per tonne (FOB China, 10 microns, 99.95%), whereas a tonne of battery grade lithium carbonate sells for around five times that at over $10,000 per tonne (EXW China), according to ",{"text":675,"type":578,"marks":676},"Benchmark’s Price Assessments",[677],{"type":583,"attrs":678},{"href":679,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":586},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/",{"text":588,"type":578},{"type":573,"attrs":682,"content":683},{"textAlign":49},[684,686,692],{"text":685,"type":578},"“Historically, the graphite was too low value coming out of ",{"text":687,"type":578,"marks":688},"black mass",[689],{"type":583,"attrs":690},{"href":691,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":586},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/what-is-black-mass-and-how-is-it-priced",{"text":693,"type":578},",” Mark Thompson, the managing director of Talga, told Benchmark Source. “People just left it alone, they didn’t take it out.”",{"type":573,"attrs":695,"content":696},{"textAlign":49},[697],{"text":698,"type":578},"The other concern is whether the output material from a recycling process can generate high enough quality graphite to be reused in a battery anode.",{"type":573,"attrs":700,"content":701},{"textAlign":49},[702],{"text":703,"type":578},"Overtime, batteries age and lose their capacity over many cycles. This occurs via degradation mechanisms such as cathode metals migrating from the cathode onto the anode surface. During the recycling process, if the battery is over-discharged or shorted, copper from the anode foil can also contaminate the graphite anode surface.",{"type":573,"attrs":705,"content":706},{"textAlign":49},[707],{"text":708,"type":578},"“Graphite recovery is simple, graphite recycling is slightly more tricky, not only do you need to separate the graphite from the rest of the battery with high purity in an economically viable way, but you also need to treat the graphite, for instance clean its surface,” Benchmark’s Sargent said. “Then, normally, it’s pretty good to go back into a battery.”",{"type":573,"attrs":710,"content":711},{"textAlign":49},[712],{"text":713,"type":578},"The resulting clean material will be a specific blend of natural and synthetic graphite, matching the input feedstock. This can cause further complications as cell makers will have specific requirements for the blend of graphite in their anode materials.",{"type":573,"attrs":715,"content":716},{"textAlign":49},[717,719,725],{"text":718,"type":578},"As such, some companies that are exploring graphite recycling are doing so in ",{"text":720,"type":578,"marks":721},"partnership with the downstream",[722],{"type":583,"attrs":723},{"href":724,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":586},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/automakers-ramp-up-recycling-plans-as-volvo-and-catl-agree-partnership",{"text":726,"type":578},". By recycling cells with a graphite blend specific to an OEM, the resulting anode will be closer to that OEM’s required specification.",{"type":573,"attrs":728,"content":729},{"textAlign":49},[730],{"text":731,"type":578},"“We are running different types of batteries with different types of chemistry and different types of composition,” Tero Hollander, head of the batteries business line at the Nordic battery recycler Fortum, told Benchmark Source. “That’s one thing on the recycling side that you need to develop together with the end user.”",{"type":573,"attrs":733,"content":734},{"textAlign":49},[735],{"text":736,"type":578},"In June this year, Fortum Battery Recycling signed an non-exclusive agreement with Japanese conglomerate Marubeni to jointly build a sustainable recycling supply chain with a focus on graphite recycling.",{"type":573,"attrs":738,"content":739},{"textAlign":49},[740],{"text":741,"type":578},"Fortum currently operates a hydrometallurgical battery recycling facility in Harjavalta, Finland and mechanical pre-treatment facilities in Germany and Finland.",{"type":621,"attrs":743,"content":744},{"level":623,"textAlign":49},[745],{"text":746,"type":578},"The opportunities of graphite recycling",{"type":573,"attrs":748,"content":749},{"textAlign":49},[750],{"text":751,"type":578},"The biggest opportunity for graphite recycling is the diversification of a supply chain that is otherwise highly concentrated in China, though regions like Africa are growing as sources for natural graphite and there is some spherical graphite capacity being established in Europe and North America.",{"type":573,"attrs":753,"content":754},{"textAlign":49},[755],{"text":756,"type":578},"Over half of the both natural graphite mining and spherical graphite production is still forecast to be located in China by 2030. More than 90% of synthetic graphite suitable for anode applications is forecast to be made in the country by 2030, too.",{"type":573,"attrs":758,"content":759},{"textAlign":49},[760],{"text":761,"type":578},"“It’s hard to decouple from China right now,” Christian Marston, co-founder and chief operating officer at Altilium Metals–a UK recycling developer–told Benchmark Source. “If China turns off the tap, it’s a problem.”",{"type":573,"attrs":763,"content":764},{"textAlign":49},[765],{"text":766,"type":578},"Talga and Altilium have a partnership focused on recovering graphite from waste batteries. Altilium claims that its planned recycling facility in Teesside in the UK will have the capacity to produce up to 20,000 tonnes of graphite a year. This would be a significant boon for the growing domestic battery industry in the country and Europe.",{"type":573,"attrs":768,"content":769},{"textAlign":49},[770],{"text":771,"type":578},"“Instead of importing fresh synthetic graphite from Asia, you are reusing the synthetic graphite that’s already there within your continent,” Talga’s Thompson said.",{"type":573,"attrs":773,"content":774},{"textAlign":49},[775],{"text":776,"type":578},"Thompson explained that the purification circuits they use to produce their natural graphite anodes can, with relatively few changes, be used to process recycled graphite material. This allows the recycling purification circuit to be co-located with the anode production facility.",{"type":573,"attrs":778,"content":779},{"textAlign":49},[780],{"text":781,"type":578},"By converting the graphite to anode material enhances the value proposition.",{"type":573,"attrs":783,"content":784},{"textAlign":49},[785],{"text":786,"type":578},"“For every stream, you maximise and you go to the highest value component you can,” Marston said. “So if that means post treating your graphite to a product you can sell to an anode producer I think you do that.”",{"type":621,"attrs":788,"content":789},{"level":623,"textAlign":49},[790],{"text":791,"type":578},"Recycling policies ignore graphite",{"type":573,"attrs":793,"content":794},{"textAlign":49},[795,797,803,805,811],{"text":796,"type":578},"In 2022, the ",{"text":798,"type":578,"marks":799},"European Union’s Battery Regulations",[800],{"type":583,"attrs":801},{"href":802,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":586},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/can-the-eu-meet-its-proposed-battery-metals-recycling-targets",{"text":804,"type":578}," set out mandates for how much a new battery’s raw materials should come from recycled sources. Notably, graphite was not included in this, though the EU has deemed it a critical mineral through the ",{"text":806,"type":578,"marks":807},"Critical Raw Materials Act",[808],{"type":583,"attrs":809},{"href":810,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":586},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/eu-forecast-to-fall-short-of-2030-crma-targets-without-ambitious-action",{"text":588,"type":578},{"type":573,"attrs":813,"content":814},{"textAlign":49},[815,819,826],{"text":816,"type":578,"marks":817},"Watch a panel discussion about battery recycling from Benchmark’s Giga Europe 2024 event ",[818],{"type":639},{"text":820,"type":578,"marks":821},"here",[822,825],{"type":583,"attrs":823},{"href":824,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":586},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/giga-europe-2024-panel-recycling-and-circular-economy-strategies",{"type":639},{"text":588,"type":578,"marks":827},[828],{"type":639},{"type":573,"attrs":830,"content":831},{"textAlign":49},[832],{"text":833,"type":578},"“I think that it wasn’t included partially because at the time there were no solutions to do it,” Thompson said.",{"type":573,"attrs":835,"content":836},{"textAlign":49},[837],{"text":838,"type":578},"However, an increasing number of European and global battery recyclers are starting to demonstrate that graphite recycling is technically feasible.",{"type":573,"attrs":840,"content":841},{"textAlign":49},[842],{"text":843,"type":578},"“I think you’ll see an increase in deals being done in the graphite space,” Thompson said, adding that the EU could potentially add graphite into the Battery Regulations in future.","Graphite accounts for up to a quarter of the weight of a battery cell, but the value of this material is typically not recovered when a battery is recycled. Very few commercial-scale recyclers extract graphite in a form suitable to reuse in a battery, meaning new batteries require virgin graphite to be mined. Almost three-quarters […]",[846],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":847},{"job_title":564,"image":848,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},{"filename":566},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"a52c73ba-bd31-45b9-ae27-82044ff1f593\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[852,855,858,861],{"slug":853,"name":854},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":856,"name":857},"graphite","Graphite",{"slug":859,"name":860},"recycling","Recycling",{"slug":862,"name":863},"sustainability","Sustainability","private",{"id":49,"alt":866,"name":866,"focus":866,"title":866,"source":866,"filename":867,"copyright":866,"fieldtype":868,"meta_data":869,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/6d36257f67/bm-fortum-graphite-recycling.jpg","asset",{"alt":866,"title":866,"source":866,"copyright":866},"Sep 03, 2024","3rd September 2024",[],[],1780670061671]