Proactive’s Tylah Tully breaks down ‘Just the Facts’ of the latest news from Iondrive Ltd (ASX:ION).
The company has announced a breakthrough in its lithium-ion battery recycling tests.
It has achieved high recovery rates of key minerals from black mass, including 100% nickel, 98.6% cobalt, 98.4% manganese and 89.1% lithium.
These tests used lower-quality raw black mass, showcasing the strength of Iondrive's technology even with suboptimal materials.
The recycling process involves a three-stage pre-treatment that removes impurities like polymers, graphite and iron.
Iondrive is conducting further tests to increase lithium recovery to 100%. A pre-feasibility study is on track for completion by the end of October 2024, after which the company plans to develop a pilot plant.
The company’s environmentally friendly method avoids toxic acid leaching by using Deep Eutectic Solvents in a closed-loop system.
The technology has also demonstrated scalability, maintaining high recovery rates even at a 1,700x scale-up.
Iondrive expects future improvements in efficiency and reliability through partnerships and the use of higher-grade materials.