BATCircle—Towards CO2 Low Battery Recycling

Finland-based Circular Ecosystem of Battery Metals (BATCircle, 22 M€) aims at management of materials and value addition during the entire lifetime of Li-ion batteries. The consortium led by Aalto University focuses on enhancing battery metals production from both primary and secondary sources. Along with BATCircle, Finland leads Batteries Europe (ETIP) WG2, where several gaps in the current battery recycling R&D topics have been identified. One of the topics relates to the environmental impacts of emerging battery recycling technologies. The current study (a) summarizes a novel approach for the synergistic hydrometallurgical recycling of LIBs together with NiMH battery waste and (b) highlights the importance of simulation-based life cycle assessment as a tool to provide early stage environmental indicator values for development stage processes.