AMY acquires precipitation reactor to advance recycled cathode material
American Manganese Inc. (AMY) has acquired a specialized cathode precipitation reactor from an Asian supplier of commercial cathode precursor manufacturing technology. This reactor is capable of producing the most modern cathode precursors such as, lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) and lithium cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA), which are being developed for the rapidly growing electric vehicle (EV) applications.
This specialized equipment, which is not available from North American suppliers, uses the latest cathode production technology and is to be incorporated in the final stages of the RecycLiCo™ pilot plant project.
The modern cathode chemistries are produced in fine-tuned chemical processes that have strict requirements for chemical composition, purity, particle shape, particle size and uniformity. AMY’s goal is to advance its cathode recycling technology by integrating its patented process with modern cathode manufacturing to produce the highest value final products with the least amount of processing steps.
American Manganese has been actively advancing its cathode recycling technology, with respect to continued operations of its pilot plant to develop capacity and engineering data. In addition, advancing strategically on its process management in terms of achieving the high-value chain with a low number of steps. American Manganese will be producing cathode precursors samples that have been requested by a Tier 1 battery manufacturer.
Current methods of recycling involve high heat smelting of spent batteries or metal concentrates from mechanical processing of spent batteries. The drawback of this current method of recycling is that fossil fuels are used smelt the metal oxides, producing approximately two tons of CO2 per ton of material process. Additionally, only a portion of the base metals is recovered as crude materials that require a large number of processes such as conversion, leaching, solvent extraction, electrorefining to make separate LME value metal products. A portion of the base metal value and lithium reports to waste slag. To increase the value chain further, these metal products will need to be dissolved and crystallized to high purity salts before they can be processed to make cathode precursors at the high level of the value chain.
“Cathode production from raw materials to cathodes is a highly specialized and energy-demanding process but is also a substantial value-added step,” said Larry Reaugh, President and CEO of American Manganese. “Therefore, we believe by optimizing the RecycLiCo™ process to produce recycled cathode materials for seamless integration into battery manufacturing is more efficient and beneficial for our business strategy.”
American Manganese Inc. is a critical metals company focused on the recycling of lithium-ion batteries with the RecycLiCo™ Patented Process. The process provides high extraction of cathode metals, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and aluminum at high purity, with minimal processing steps. American Manganese Inc. aims to commercialize its breakthrough RecycLiCo™ Patented Process and become an industry leader in recycling cathode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries.
