Lithium Australia produces cathode from spent batteries

A subsidiary of Perth-based Lithium Australia has produced battery cathode material using refined lithium phosphate from spent lithium-ion batteries.

Brisbane-based VSPC then went on to create and test lithium-ferro-phosphate batteries, a type of lithium-ion battery.

Also involved in the process was Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, which recovered lithium phosphate from mixed metal dust from recycled batteries, and Envirostream Australia, which sorts energy metals from spent batteries.

VSPC is in discussion with market participants in China and elsewhere to establish a supply chain for lithium-ferro-phosphate cathode material produced through recycling spent lithium-ion batteries.

"The production of lithium-ion batteries from recycled battery material represents a genuinely renewable pathway for the battery industry," Lithium Australia managing director Adrian Griffin said.

Lithium Australia's focus is on developing a vertically integrated lithium business. By using material from spent batteries to create new batteries, it aims "to close the loop" on lithium production and recovery.