Pilot 4: Synthesis and Production use of Recycled Cathode Materials
ORANO and VERKOR will establish interregional and industrial cooperation to close the loop of the ‘batteries valley’. Verkor is serving as a close-loop partner in this project by filling the roles listed below in cooperation with ORANO. Verkor’s current battery pilot line has been evaluated to be at a TRL level of 7, and it will be up-scaled to produce TRL 8 level battery cells in a pouch cell format.
Pilot Phase I
Synchronising the materials and technologies from ORANO with VERKOR requirements. Supply requirements and strategy to deploy.
Supply of scraps will be included and quality checked. Scraps are generated during the battery manufacturing process.
Which will be given to the recycling partner for re-valorization and close-loop strategy.
Pilot Phase II
From recovered raw materials to continuous PreCAM pilot initiation demo with a commissioned reactor: Raw materials recovered in form of metallic salts will be used with the objective is the production of metal mix hydroxides (preCAM) for the production of NMC NMC (for instance 811 and/or 9½½) at the pilot scale. VERKOR will fully align with this tech transfer operation under confidential internal cooperation with ORANO.
Pilot Phase III
Construction and commissioning of a continuous CAM producing pilot. Manufacturing of new Li-ion pouch cells with recycled material. Orano will manufacture and assemble a TRL 7 pre-industrial pilot with a target of 50 kg/day, including the development of active materials and high voltage electrolyte with scalable and green processes. The installation will be carried out using the materials and all the necessary equipment at ORANO’s premises, including all the safety operations and requirements.
“This project has received funding from the European Union’s Interregional Innovation Investment (I3) programme under grant agreement No 101115058. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union not the granting authority can be held responsible for them”.