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Electrochemical bath recycles critical minerals in batteries
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/06/electrochemical-bath-recycles-critical-minerals-batteriesBy David Nutt, Cornell Chronicle
June 9, 2026
The critical minerals that power lithium-ion batteries are in high demand and short supply, especially for the U.S., which must rely on importing resources such as nickel and cobalt to manufacture the technology.
…
The traditional method for recycling lithium-ion batteries, she said, is one of brute force: The batteries are either smelted at high temperatures, i.e., pyrometallurgy, producing an alloy and slag from which valuable metals are later recovered, or crushed and shredded into a powdery black mass that is processed via hydrometallurgy that uses harsh acids to recover critical elements. The components then have to be completely resynthesized and refabricated – a costly and time-intensive procedure that results in lengthening the “circularity loop” by which recycled resources are kept in the system, instead of in landfills. And because the U.S. lacks the infrastructure for the extraction, refining and synthesis of the electrode, many steps of these long loop processes cannot be performed domestically.
Kalra’s team developed a method called direct electrode-to-electrode regeneration (DEER) in which a spent battery’s individual electrodes are removed while still intact and attached to the current collector and are placed in a separate cell that contains an electrochemical solution: 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone. The solution dissolves the thick insulating layer, known as the solid electrolyte interphase, that gradually builds up between the cathode and anode as the battery gets cycled, gradually diminishing its capacity over time.
“We repair them, as is, without shredding or powdering them, and then put them back into a new battery,” said Kalra, the Kathy Dwyer Marble and Curt Marble Faculty Director at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, which supported the research. “The dissolution is basically what helps the battery recover its capacity. It shows 95% recovery. So we are shortening the circularity loop immensely.”
…
Kim, K., Yang, C., Gallagher, S. M., Yue, S. & Kalra, V. Direct electrode-to-electrode regeneration of end-of-life batteries via electrode–electrolyte interphase dissolution. Energy Environ. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1039/D6EE01118G (2026) doi:10.1039/D6EE01118G.
June 9, 2026
The critical minerals that power lithium-ion batteries are in high demand and short supply, especially for the U.S., which must rely on importing resources such as nickel and cobalt to manufacture the technology.
…
The traditional method for recycling lithium-ion batteries, she said, is one of brute force: The batteries are either smelted at high temperatures, i.e., pyrometallurgy, producing an alloy and slag from which valuable metals are later recovered, or crushed and shredded into a powdery black mass that is processed via hydrometallurgy that uses harsh acids to recover critical elements. The components then have to be completely resynthesized and refabricated – a costly and time-intensive procedure that results in lengthening the “circularity loop” by which recycled resources are kept in the system, instead of in landfills. And because the U.S. lacks the infrastructure for the extraction, refining and synthesis of the electrode, many steps of these long loop processes cannot be performed domestically.
Kalra’s team developed a method called direct electrode-to-electrode regeneration (DEER) in which a spent battery’s individual electrodes are removed while still intact and attached to the current collector and are placed in a separate cell that contains an electrochemical solution: 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone. The solution dissolves the thick insulating layer, known as the solid electrolyte interphase, that gradually builds up between the cathode and anode as the battery gets cycled, gradually diminishing its capacity over time.
“We repair them, as is, without shredding or powdering them, and then put them back into a new battery,” said Kalra, the Kathy Dwyer Marble and Curt Marble Faculty Director at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, which supported the research. “The dissolution is basically what helps the battery recover its capacity. It shows 95% recovery. So we are shortening the circularity loop immensely.”
…