Iondrive Ltd (ASX:ION) has undertaken a concept study with the Wood Group consulting and engineering company to produce a process design for a 10,000-tonnes per year commercial black mass processing plant.
The Class 5 Concept Study will involve the development of a Process Block Flow Diagram, conducting a Mass and Energy Balance in SysCAD and determining equipment sizing.
This study will also estimate capital and operational expenditures, and provide capital expenditure benchmarking to ensure a thorough evaluation of the project’s economic competitiveness.
Iondrive says this study is a crucial step in validating the technical and economic viability of its deep eutectic solvent (DES) battery recycling technology – the findings from the engineering design will help optimise the process and identify potential cost savings.
Black mass is the mix of shredded base metals produced from processing lithium-ion battery waste. It makes up about 40-50% of the total weight of an electric vehicle and includes valuable critical and battery metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, aluminium, manganese and graphite.
Crucial conceptual design study
“We are excited to collaborate with Wood on this crucial conceptual engineering design study,” Iondrive CEO Dr Ebbe Dommisse said.
“Wood’s renowned expertise and extensive experience in black mass processing, coupled with their strong market reputation as a global tier-1 engineering and consulting firm, make them the ideal partner for this project.
“Their role will be instrumental in refining our DES process and advancing the commercialisation of our battery recycling technology.”
The global lithium-ion battery recycling market was valued at US$3.79 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at an impressive compounding annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.75% to US$23.21 billion by 2032.
Iondrive says the completion of this study will advance its commercialisation efforts and support the development of a scalable and efficient commercial plant.
The company believes Wood's extensive experience and technical expertise in black mass processing is pivotal in achieving this goal.
ION is confident its pre-feasibility study (PFS) is also on track, targeting completion for October this year.