Lithium-Ion Batteries CAN Be Recycled! RecycLiCo Battery Materials & Kemetco Research Tour

Sandy visits the teams at RecycLiCo Battery Materials and Kemetco Research for an in-depth discussion on battery recycling and a tour of a facility that's making this dream a reality.
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[@KenOtwell]

Love the idea of NOT extracting every single different mineral, but going straight to the marketable battery precursor mix. Less cost, higher final price for the mixture -- win win!

[@rogerstarkey5390]

If you're making the same mix

[@KenOtwell]

@@rogerstarkey5390True. It would probably have to be the same battery chemistry. If it's not - you could always mix in what was not there in sufficient quantities - or even dilute the whole thing - as necessary. Still a lot cheaper than mining the entire batch from scratch.

[@tlister67]

It is an interesting path for sure and saves a lot on footprint. However, I can see it not fitting into manufacturing though, which will be dominated by primary feed (pure feed) for decades. I think Ascend Elements uses a similar paradigm (purification verses separation). It is certainly more viable than trying to recycle cathode particles (direct recycling) which keep you mostly locked into old formulations.

[@dmcarstensen]

The ability to recycle manufacturing line scrap directly right into the manufacturing line's recipe is a fantastic one. All other companies I've seen are focusing on mixed-waste battery recycling into individual elements.

[@hazelsct]

Indeed, going directly to cathode material is very clever! It's also not new. Ascend Elements has had this capability for more than 8 years now. They have about a billion and a half in financing and have already built a couple of plants. Efficient recycling of lithium batteries is fast becoming a mature technology.

[@drooplug]

Jerry Rig Everything recently toured a recycler that produces black mass. It's an excellent companion video to this one. I highly recommend warching it.

[@davidherringgo]

Thankyou RecyCliCo for inviting Sandy to your facility. I appreciate you sharing this info. on Y.T.

[@Pacsuper7]

Big thank you to Recyclico and to the Munro team for sharing this. SUPER INTRESTING!

[@yanniskoutsoumaris2790]

Recyclico has the most important promising and transparent technology for upscaling and recycling EV batteries

[@michaelb7071]

Thanks for sharing! Battery recycling may be the most important technology to master to make BEVs have less negative impact on the environment.

[@MunroLive]

Thanks for watching!

[@theonlymadmac4771]

Very interesting as all of your videos!

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

🙋‍♂️THANKS SANDY,AND THE MUNRO TEAM,AND EVERYONE ELSE 😅,FOR SHOWING WHAT REALLY MAKES SENSE 🧐FOR THE FUTURE 💚💚💚

[@davidwilkie9551]

Technophiles perfect interest story. Thanks.

[@MunroLive]

Thanks for watching!

[@richardteychenne3950]

Fascinating Sandy, while the chemistry is way over my head this video made the Business Concept and approach these guys are taking clear and immensely viable. Congratulations to you, your team and the RecycLiCo team. A company to watch, making the world a better cleaner more efficient place.

[@markplott4820]

there are 2 basic was to recycle battery cells. one involves melting it down , and extract material. the other is water leaching, collecting the lighter material, with heaviest elements settled on the bottom, also EZ to separate plastics & composite.😊

[@richardteychenne3950]

Cheers@@markplott4820 👍

[@Slebonson]

Thanks everyone and Munro!

[@azizaripov5960]

have over 650k shares in Recyclico. dont miss these levels folks it’s the future easy billion dollar company

[@southport3399]

Awesome introduction to RecycLiCo and their work in the battery recycling world. Great talents on display. Thanks to Sandy and the Munro Live team for the research & hard work in putting this presentation together!

[@frankhage1734]

What a great video on the process of recycling valuable metals. The technical level of discussion was on-point for those of us that understand the basics of mineral extraction. I expect this video will spawn thousands of articles and videos. The discussion how how they prevent explosions during processing was a highlight for me.

[@laughinggas5281]

well, that description was related to the making of black mass. They don't make the black mass. Black mass is an input to their process.

[@anvoong2510]

@@laughinggas5281I think this company should merge with Li-Cycle which has a very efficient process to breakdown the battery to make the black mass. It’s a win-win for both.

[@zarkomeseldzija5584]

Thank you Sandy and the Munro team!

[@stefanor.1242]

Recyclico is a key player in the game. Awesome! Waiting for next Joint Venture.

[@minicirco]

I‘m stunned, discharged black mass as the starting point for reuse at a lower price than „from sources“, that‘s smart mining. A big advantage. I‘d like to know more about Redwood: they also do that and 2nd about limitation of these processes. Eye opening technologies, very impressive. Thank you Sandy for presenting to us noobs 😅

[@lesliestuart]

It’s sort of like Sandy is hey guys you want to look at this SHT

[@RecycledEVContent]

Thank you for doing this Video Sandy, Glad to see others noticing this company and the emerging technology behind it.

[@PaulHoke]

This was Fascinating! Spend more time in Vancouver!

[@stevesdropcobra]

I have been following this company for years! I just broke down the circle ⭕️ of life of the batteries to find them! Thanks everyone for the video!!!

[@electronprotonneutronmoron1356]

Yeah they are great for sure. The kind of company you feel proud to be apart of the team and accomplish great new innovative ways forward to recycling and making a new product in the smartest of ways!

[@lgadams1]

This is what makes you a rock star! Who else would even begin to answer these tough questions we all should want to understand before jumping on board the BEV train. Thanks!

[@cg986]

Amazing. Good job RecycLiCo.

[@jamespn]

Very interesting tour, thanks Sandy for taking us along.

[@firstbigbarney]

We need more forward looking companies to go to the future of recycling,,,

[@davincisghost9228]

Thank you folks.

[@bernielafrance5548]

Nice work RecycLiCo. Thanks Canada.

[@briansilver9652]

It is ironic that the main issue with commercializing Li-Ion battery recycling is the lack of scale of batteries coming back. Recycling manufacturing scrap may be the saviour of these companies in the short term.

[@ScubaSteveCanada]

I've read that the "old" batteries are simply placed in storage until they are ready to be recycled. If it costs too much, they'll stay in storage for a long, long time.

[@jeffpicken5057]

@@ScubaSteveCanadathat’s the big batteries. The small cell phone batteries and others that size are probably going into landfills far more than they need to.

[@laughinggas5281]

I've heard that many "old" car batteries are being in other applications (like grid storage) and aren't actually being shredded. Wouldn't mind seeing data on what % of spent EV batteries are truly recycled. @@ScubaSteveCanada

[@gargalash9191]

@@jeffpicken5057 which is a shame since cellphone batt's have a very lucrative chem.

[@davidmenasco5743]

​@@ScubaSteveCanadaI have read no such thing. What I have read is that battery recyclers in North America are eager to receive all EV batteries and laptop and phone batteries. These include Redwood Materials and Battery Recyclers of America. Of course, most used EV batteries have a lot of value for stationary storage as well. That's a business that's just getting started. But the typical used EV battery will have the capacity of four Tesla Powerwalls.

[@sjvtesla]

Wow... Thanks Sandy and team!

[@sbaugess6419]

Wow. Loved the video. Loved the company. Brilliant. Thank You.

[@Charlie-Oooooo]

Sounds like these folks have the brains and the braun, or should I say due diligence, to make battery recycling work, and work well! TYSM Sandy & team! ❤

[@stefanvestibrorsen3904]

Great seeing this. Thank you. All the best to RecycLiCo on scaling up and getting in to EV battery production lines around the world.

[@dougstiller1470]

Great interview Sandy. They explained the complex chemistry and processes in a way I could under stand it. I met Zarko at the Vancouver Fully Charged Trade show this weekend and he spent 15-20 minutes answering all my questions and details about how to implement with the OEM's. As he stressed this process is currently done off shore and as we build the many new battery factories it will make total logistic sense to recycle it on shore. The future looks great and keep up the interviews of new tech. Love what you do.

[@andrewradford3953]

Hope they can scale fast. They've got an excellent team there.

[@AlainODea]

Really enjoying seeing more battery recycling at further steps in the lifecycle. This is great!

[@mackeejack6731]

I’ve invested $57k into this company so far. The numbers simply don’t lie and the team executes without needing fluff every time. Lean, clean business model with tons of cash and a patented process on 3 continents? That’s a good bet.

[@FrozenHaxor]

As Masayoshi Son once said - "Don't go too far too much". So far the end product has not allowed them to break even and pay for itself.

[@mackeejack6731]

@@FrozenHaxoroh trust me im well aware of the risk. And losing that amount won’t sink me. Best of luck all

[@Cio-kc1sk]

I invested in this company also. I think they have a licensing agreement with Tesla from all the things I read. This company will get a head start from the rest.

[@Jmort93]

Through your brokerage? It’s not publically tradeable at a retail level, at least not through WeBull.

[@rayng4336]

​​@@Jmort93try Ticker symbol AMYZF for US brokages and AMY for Canadian. I've traded it in the recent past. Yes, it's a pink sheet.

[@jtkstudios4168]

An interesting analogy is that recycling is similar to the digestive system. You start with grinding the whole material (teeth). Then, chemical separation (stomach acid) and collect & breakdown elements (intestinal bacteria) remove water (large intestine). Then, the nutrients get used for energy protection and cell repair

[@hippie-io7225]

Very fun analogy!

[@eyesuckle]

Never thought of it that way. You're right!

[@w0nd3rlu573r]

Again some great insights into our future. Thank you!

[@greghernandez676]

What a great inside look at the future of this part of electrification. Thanks for sharing!!

[@deejay8ch]

Fantastic behind the scenes giving us some insights into some of the state of the art theories and practises for battery recycling. In essence it was merely scratching the surface, but thankfully it didn't cause a fire 🤦‍♂️ and instead just ignited my curiosity even more than before.

[@FreezBag]

Amazingly efficient 😊concept and beautifully refined implementation. Strong 💪 work here!

[@techiheed1845]

Loved that one. Very interesting for me and lots of people. A must see!

[@squee8174]

Glad you guys finally got to see the recycling process, would have loved to of gone.

[@planetmuskvlog3047]

Amazing insight! This video also useful to demonstrate how inventions are created and how insights are uncovered to lead to innovations

[@robertrobertson5120]

That was an absolutely amazing tour and explanation! Why can't the USA do something like this? And if there is a similar facility, why is it not in the news?

[@BrandonKnoblauch]

Redwood Materials is based in Nevada, and they are in the news depending on where you get your news.

[@robertrobertson5120]

@@BrandonKnoblauch ... my news is via MSM...

[@davidmenasco5743]

The US is way behind in this aspect of the energy transition. But the US government has taken steps to try and catch up. They've made $192 million available specifically for battery recycling efforts. The Biden administration is claiming credit. But it's Congress that approves the funds. Why so far behind? Well, that's because the oil industry has been actively suppressing battery development in the US for decades, and they own about half the politicians that could make a difference.

[@DavidHalko]

⁠@@robertrobertson5120- can’t believe MSM. Sometimes, states will make announcements when businesses open like this. Georgia, for example, announced both battery recycling & manufacturing facilities.

[@formytots0128]

Thanks Sandy and the RecycliCo company for a very informative video. Love that their process is based on first principles thinking to lower costs and manufacturing complexity.

[@jimoliver7617]

INSIGHTFUL , RESOURCEFUL, ENJOYABLE. Thanks

[@jamesengland7461]

Very impressive and efficient!

[@getiingtubed]

Amazing access and insights

[@johnp5250]

We need to push for a more recycling world We need to push for legislation for companies to only release recyclable products. No more making new trash.

[@themonsterunderyourbed9408]

Not possible.

[@FrozenHaxor]

Say goodbye to modern world comfort if that happens.

[@johnp5250]

@@FrozenHaxor The "modern world" is fucking it up for everyone else.

[@peteglass3496]

Excellent seeing a little way into the weeds of this stage of battery recycling developments. Hydrometallurgy processes do seem more promising than Pyrometallurgy ones. Glad I picked up on the renaming of American Manganese - I wondered where they got too! 😁 There are close to a dozen companies in North America and Europe working in this space that I've managed to list, it will be interesting to see how they all get on.

[@KineticEV]

This was great. I love companies like this, Redwood Materials and Li-Cycle. They all do some similar things but all doing great work in this field of battery recovery.

[@GroovyVideo2]

I have 2 model S battery bricks in my RV - used daily for 3 years to power Starlink - charge Surron E bike - Fridge / cooking - Battery has worked well

[@JohnDoe-vm5pc]

That basic premise has been used at Asian 7-11s for many years, "old" car batteries still hold a lot of value, good on you.

[@xploration1437]

AC too?

[@ScubaSteveCanada]

That's not an end of life scenario. This video is discussing recycling product that has truly reached end of life (no further capabilities in the product).

[@GroovyVideo2]

@@xploration1437got batteries to power mini split AC then changed my mind - I have gear needed to charge at car chargers but have not used it yet - if I start stealth camping again will install AC and use car chargers

[@FutureSystem738]

Fascinating thanks, GREAT video.

[@MunroLive]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Leopold5100]

absoluely fascinating, thank you once again

[@Chas_Reno]

Great smart team of PROS at RecycLiCo!

[@ronkelly5507]

Wow, fantastic work again from Munro Live. Thanks very much, did not know of the history of Vancouver's miniing, research and battery research before. Yay UBC, Yay Molicell - makers of some excellent Lion cells of very high power.

[@mrrkrr]

This is a great companion video to the @JerryRigEverything video that just came out showing how companies turn old EV battery packs into the black mass they mention several times in this video.

[@hardergamer]

Thanks for showing, as this was very interesting.

[@tumbleweed1976]

Thank you for the knowledge behind the curtain.

[@MunroLive]

You bet!

[@vaibhavdlv]

Fantastic video and amazing interaction.

[@MunroLive]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@philipswallow7034]

Best explanation with details of direct crystal end product for immediate use with no secondary steps. Amazing and precise process related to end use for the most economical return.

[@lxoxrxexnx]

This was marvelous. You interviewed a wonderful group of people and I’m excited in learning how recycling processes are improving. It was also good to rehear Sandy’s mantra of doing as much as you can in-house to maximize your ability to develop and improve.

[@1944chevytruck]

cool!...I live on Vancouver Island

[@tristankordek]

Amazing material👍

[@jimanderson4444]

Yeah Sandy, Yankee engineuity will return ! Pure inspiration to see the road to battery cost reduction in the works.

[@JohnManos-dc8nu]

I bought 10000 shares on friday! Lets go Recyclico!

[@Spawn223311]

awesome group and video

[@mrknesiah]

Super-critical water dissolves materials very easily. Great system.

[@lesbendo6363]

Thank you! It's the diamonds in the ruff that come out to shine. 🇨🇦

[@nathanielgritzman6961]

this is brilliant

[@chrisdavenport2895]

Great video very informative!

[@MunroLive]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Firestorm637]

Very interesting video!!

[@MunroLive]

Thanks for watching!

[@aleksandrsnaumovs4277]

Great news!! What is the actual efficiency? As in, how much target material does this process actually extract and how much is not recovered? Can this process effectively replace mining once we have enough batteries in the global market?

[@ernesttravers829]

That video was incredible Sandy Thanks very much Only you could produce that with them I could follow it all but don't ask me questions Interesting what you said about the Whiz Kids at Ford Keep em comin

[@zotter2542]

This is great news!

[@gordkao]

Wow! Learn a lot. Great video

[@MunroLive]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@gordkao]

@@MunroLive Have to watch multiple times to get more ... Wow!

[@maxomatic76]

GREAT info thanks guys!

[@MunroLive]

Our pleasure!

[@musingsbymarco5001]

This was so easy to understand. I love how those guys had little smiles as they were explaining stuff. I get the feeling they might be in the Tesla club and they "get it". The one thing I wanted you to ask about that you didn't was how do Lithium Phosphate batteries fit into their plan if at all? Alot of battery chemistry is heading that way away from NMC and Cobalt.

[@zaneenaz4962]

Those tiny pellets have a specific composition and structure. To recover the pellets in their active form would be quite an accomplishment as the cathodes are made by select companies that can deliver a level of performance and consistency unmatched by others. Unfortunately, the black mass has a large amount of carbon/graphite that effectively is a contaminant. Carbon anode manufacturing still prefers virgin materials. The energetics of the battery materials, including the very active electrolytes degrades with use and time.....larger amounts of energy can be stored by better means.

[@seanparlan]

Lol, props for repping Vancouver👍🏽

[@TheManLab7]

Even with iPhone audio it's still really good. I still think it's crazy that we've got 4k 60fps cameras with pretty good audio in your pocket 😊

[@theslimeylimey]

I was not expecting to see Munroe in my area. Moli Energy is within walking distance and as a kid I rode my dirt bike where it was built. There is a lot of energy R&D here and I have worked on numerous interesting projects for various companies in this sector.

[@Jens-uh9nw]

When will be the annual meeting this year ?

[@markwoods5080]

Very interesting video, thank you for making this. I would be very curious in the overall efficiency of their process compared to conventional mining and processing.

[@stevenbarrett7648]

Mind boggling ! Just breath taking leading edge technology explained to a level this muppet could understand !!

[@daves1646]

Exciting to see companies innovating in the recycling space, esp for battery materials. Unexpected that production waste is a major material source (for now, perhaps …. 10 years from now a different story)

[@MICHGO1]

VERY INTERESTING.

[@OleGit1497]

I hear about chemicals being used in various processes for lithium batteries. How are the chemicals, that are used in the minerals mined, manufactured and recycling, extracted/mined, etc., being recycled/disposed of in the end?

[@xlargetophat]

Looks like very hard work to get to that point with patents and then now to scale up with even more sensors and robotics.. plus training staff. Very hard work.

[@arjunchauhan24]

Absolutely great vid from Munro! I believe there's one fundamental risk in the EV battery recycling business and that is the pace of change. We now have improved mining processes and the cost of LNCs have gone down significantly in last 5 years and on top of that we have more efficient batteries that can store and dissipate more energy per cell and average life span of an EV Li-on battery is around 6-8 years (personal EVs). So that cost of procuring these 6-8 year old batteries today can be higher than the cost making a new battery simply because the minerals are available at low prices and the efficiency has increased. Net net, I thinking it will make more sense to invest your $$ in recycling batteries at a large scale once things start becoming more standardized.

[@MistSoalar]

I hope their economy of recycling works along evolution of battery chemistry. EV needs cheaper battery but I don't want it the point of "too cheap & too energy intensive to recycle" like most polymers

[@nickmalaspina6106]

Thanks Sandy That was great

[@mrmawson2438]

Great show guys

[@jackpalczynski7884]

It's interesting to see the strategy of recovering what will be reused. I've been selling scrap Lithium Ion batteries for years and just assumed it all went to China but never knew what was done with these batteries. It's good to see how these are processed.

[@ronaldlenz5745]

Beautiful music to this chemical engineer's ears. Maybe I'll come out of retirement. Well maybe not. I enjoy driving my Tesla too much! Just completed a 2382 mile trip through the hinterlands of AZ, UT, and CO. Averaged 243 watt-hours per mile in our '20 Model S. The Panasonic 18650 cells are still doing just fine.

[@yanniskoutsoumaris2790]

Do you see any connection between Tesla Panasonic and Recyclico ?

[@icare7151]

Great knowledge.

[@ChrisBigBad]

On "Battery Day" Elon said that the Giga Factory is designed to accommodate different processes and chemistry iirc.

[@ImHavingaCoronary]

Norm Chow really seemed to want to move the discussion away from Sodium Sulfate production 22:00. Cut the guy off, and just gave a generic "This is our new technology, and it's proprietary and pending patent" response. Very curious. Wonder if they haven't really solved it yet, or if talking about it was giving to much information out to competitors. Guess it's the latter. He really seemed to shut the topic down fast.

[@RecycledEVContent]

Proprietary process/ trade secrets

[@lesliestuart]

So should tesla buy these guys like they did the Canadian firm