Black Mass Recovery Technology

The Technology Development Board (TDB), under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), has provided financial support to BatX Energies. This support is for a project focused on the commercialization of an indigenous, sustainable battery recycling process. The goal is to extract battery-grade lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese from end-of-life lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.

BatX Energies’ Innovative Recycling Technology

• Process: BatX Energies has developed a proprietary low-temperature, low-pressure hydrometallurgical process.
• Chemistry Agnostic: This process is agnostic to lithium-ion battery chemistries, meaning it can handle various types of Li-ion batteries.
• Dual-Mode Black Mass Recovery: The technology utilizes a dual-mode (wet and dry) black mass recovery approach.
  • This ensures high separation efficiency and recovery rates of up to 97–99%.
• Output: The recovered compounds, such as lithium carbonate and cobalt sulphate, are battery-grade and meet global specifications.
• Market: These recovered materials will cater to both domestic consumption and exports, supporting the circular economy.

Understanding Black Mass in Battery Recycling

• Composition of Li-ion Batteries: Li-ion batteries contain valuable metals including lithium, copper, manganese, cobalt, and nickel.
• Black Mass Formation:
  • Once a Li-ion battery reaches its end-of-life, it is collected and fully discharged.
  • It is then shredded, and base metals are separated from the remaining material.
  • This resulting dark, powdery, shiny metallic mixture is known as ‘black mass’.
• What Black Mass Contains: It contains all the valuable metals that constitute the battery’s anodes and cathodes.
• Color Origin: The typical black color is due to the high concentrations of graphite found in the anodes of batteries.