University College Dublin spin-out Licovolt and Australia-based Pure Battery Technologies have signed a joint development deal that aims to transform the production of sustainable battery materials for the electric vehicle industry.
Licovolt was co-founded by UCD scientists Associate Professor Tony Keene, UCD School of Chemistry and Associate Professor Steven Ferguson, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, with the support of NovaUCD.
It said today's strategic collaboration strengthens the supply chain for sustainable battery materials, advancing the development of clean energy solutions and supports the global transition to electrification.
Licovolt has developed a new way of recycling spent lithium-cobalt batteries at a fraction of the cost and CO2 emissions of current methods.
Situated at the heart of Europe's EV manufacturing hub, PBT's refinery in Hagen in Germany, currently produces about 2,000 tonnes of nickel products annually.
Plans are underway to expand operations with a new state-of-the-art refinery expansion to produce up to 12,000 tonnes a year of high-quality precursor Cathode Active Material (pCAM).
Using green technology, PBT refines raw materials such as Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) and recycled battery black mass into clean, high-grade pCAM for lithium-ion batteries.
Licovolt said its technology, which processes precursor materials to produce both Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO) and Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) CAM, offers a seamless and complementary addition to PBT's existing flow-sheet.
Clint Zahmel, Executive Director of Licovolt, said the company is excited to be working with PBT, leveraging their operating facility and hard-earned raw material supply and off-take relationships.
"Licovolt's agreement with PBT has the potential to springboard Licovolt’s technology as well as provide a valuable addition to PBT’s facilities," he said.
Bjorn Zikarsky, CEO of PBT, said that Licovolt's technology presents an exciting potential addition to PBT’s flow-sheet and PBT’s existing and expanded facilities.
"PBT and Licovolt have a great team of people and importantly have the ability to rapidly scale Licovolt’s technology given our operating facility in Hagen," he added.
