Iondrive Ltd (ASX:ION) is putting the final touches on its pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its Deep Eutectic Solvent (DES) battery recycling technology.
DES technology is an innovative, environmentally sustainable process designed to recover critical minerals from black mass, the shredded material derived from end-of-life (EoL) lithium-ion batteries.
The technology uses biodegradable organic solvents within a closed-loop system, allowing for selective recovery of lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese from black mass.
This closed-loop process minimises waste and significantly reduces the environmental impact compared to conventional recycling methods, such as pyrometallurgical smelting or hydrometallurgical acid leaching, which are more energy-intensive and involve toxic chemicals.
A commercial-scale plant suggested
Iondrive today confirmed that it has received the final inputs from the remaining three consultants engaged under its PFS process for its DES battery recycling technology.
Collectively, the findings suggest a commercial-scale plant based on Iondrive’s DES technology would be highly cost competitive with a conventional hydrometallurgical plant and with a more environmentally friendly footprint.
Together with outcomes from previously announced PFS activities, Iondrive now has a high level of confidence in progressing to the next stage of commercialisation.
The reports provide an optimised flow sheet for a 10,000 tonne per annum, or around 160,000 EV lithium-ion batteries per annum, recycling plant based on Iondrive’s DES recycling technology, together with capital and operating cost estimates and a benchmarking study.
“Our PFS activities, conducted in collaboration with leading organisations, have solidified the technical feasibility and commercial viability of Iondrive’s DES battery recycling technology,” said Iondrive CEO Ebbe Dommisse.
“By partnering with high-calibre consultants and engineering experts, we’ve rigorously de-risked this innovative process, demonstrating substantial economic advantages, including significantly lower capital and operating costs, compared to traditional recycling methods.
“Equally important, our technology offers an environmentally sustainable solution, aligning with global demand for greener, closed-loop battery recycling practices.
“The board and I are excited to take the next steps toward pilot plant development and to further engage with potential partners and non-dilutive funding sources.
"We are committed to advancing Iondrive’s DES technology as a competitive, responsible choice for critical mineral recovery in key markets and look forward to its transformative impact on the battery recycling industry.”
The company makes note that recent industry collaborations in the EU underline the real sense of urgency and call to action created by the new battery regulations in the EU, and highlight the unique value proposition of Iondrive’s sustainable battery recycling technology.
Benchmarking study findings
The benchmarking study compared the DES recycling plant cost estimates against those for a plant of a similar size and location (EU) using a conventional hydrometallurgical process, with key findings being:
- Capex: capital expenditure estimates for the DES based plant were 36% lower than the benchmark; and
- Opex: operating costs of processing treated black mass to produce lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese battery-grade materials are highly competitive with the benchmark.
Economic modelling showed that the Iondrive DES process is significantly more profitable than the benchmark.
Other key conclusions from the PFS activities previously announced:
- accelerating demand expected for battery recycling driven by 1) access to minerals critical to meet the forecast increase in battery production, and 2) sustainably addressing the growing problem of EoL batteries;
- a pressing need for onshoring recycling capacity in the EU as regulations ban batteries from landfill and restrict exporting of black mass;
- lithium-ion batteries expected to remain the dominant EV battery chemistry in the foreseeable future in the target markets of the EU, US and Australia;
- Iondrive’s technology provides a unique environmentally sustainable value proposition for onshore recycling of lithium-ion batteries in the target markets;
- larger scale technical trials demonstrate high recovery rates of critical minerals, even with raw black mass containing mixed lithium-ion battery types and ability to further improve recoveries with simple pre-treatment steps.
Next steps
Engineering studies
Wood Concept Study – pretreatment process. Advance the recent process development work of Iondrive for a pretreatment process to remove impurities to enhance the DES process. Wood has been engaged to proceed with an AACE Class 5 Concept Study to perform mass/energy balance based on Iondrive’s bench-scale test work and to determine operating and capital costs.
Laboratory test work
Perform bench-scale tests to generate VLE data at the Koch Modular pilot plant facilities in Houston to strengthen the process simulation assumptions and therefore accuracy of the process design of the solvent recovery section.
Continue progressing the large-scale black mass trials to further optimise minerals recoveries.
Pilot Plant Project
Stage 1 (Semi continuous): (January to June 2025) Start with the preliminary pilot plant test work at semi-continuous operation to optimise unit operations and use as input for the process design of a continuous pilot plant operation.
Stage 2 (continuous, integrated pilot plant): (July 2025 - 2027) Design, construction and operation of a continuous, integrated pilot plant that is representative of a large-scale operation.
Economic modelling
Third party independent economic modelling including Benchmark Minerals Intelligence forecasting for black mass and product pricing.