According to EU estimates, around 30 million electric vehicles will be on the road by 2030. The lithium-ion batteries used in these vehicles contain valuable raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper - all of which are in limited supply and have so far been difficult to recycle in an environmentally friendly way.
Research for the green cycle
The EU research project "BeyondBattRec", which is being funded with 7.45 million euros, aims to change this. Coordinated by a consortium of a dozen European partners, the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib) - a member of the Green Tech Valley environmental cluster - is also working on innovative solutions. The goal: a more efficient, more environmentally friendly and more economical recycling process for used batteries. The key to the solution lies in biotechnology - or more precisely, in bacteria.
Bacteria as raw material saviours
The researchers at acib rely on a process called bioleaching, in which special microorganisms help to extract metals from solid materials. Sulphur-oxidising bacteria create an acidic environment that enables lithium to be extracted from the battery. These microorganisms could originate from by-products of biogas desulphurisation - a clever way of using waste twice. Such bacteria are already being used successfully in copper mining. This potential has barely been utilised for lithium.
Technology for a clean future
In addition to the actual bioleaching process, the focus is also on further developing the entire recycling chain - from sorting and deactivation to dismantling and recovery. The big advantage: significantly less toxic waste and CO₂ emissions are produced while at the same time reducing dependence on raw material imports.
#schongenial when microbes rescue valuable metals from waste and help to make electromobility truly sustainable.
