Battery recycling and critical minerals
Critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements are needed for batteries and electronics, and recycling and better ore processing reduce dependence on new mining. Abdul Rahman's MSc research covered direct recycling and regeneration of nickel-rich NMC cathodes, and at PCSIR he upgraded low-grade iron ore from 36% to 65% Fe through characterization-driven beneficiation.
What's included
- Characterization of spent cathode materials and black mass
- Direct recycling and relithiation route assessment for NMC cathodes
- Process mineralogy of ores using SEM/EDS, XRD and XRF
- Beneficiation flowsheet review for low-grade ores
- Literature and technology reviews for critical-mineral projects
Who it's for
- Battery recycling startups and pilot plants
- Mining and mineral-processing teams
- Investors doing technical due diligence
- Researchers moving from lab to pilot scale
How it works
- Discovery call: A free 30-minute video call to understand the part, the material and what you need to decide.
- Proposal: A short written scope with the analyses, the data or samples needed, the timeline and the price.
- Analysis: Data and images are shared securely online; physical testing is arranged with a lab near you when needed.
- Report and debrief: A written report with findings and recommendations, followed by a call to walk your team through it.
Questions about battery & critical minerals
What are critical minerals?
Critical minerals are raw materials that are essential to the economy or national security and whose supply is at risk. Lists such as the US Geological Survey's include lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and the rare earth elements, which are needed for batteries, electronics and clean-energy technology.
What is direct recycling of battery cathodes?
Direct recycling recovers cathode material from spent lithium-ion batteries and restores it, for example by relithiation and heat treatment, without breaking it down into individual metals. It can use less energy and fewer chemicals than pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical recycling.
What is ore beneficiation?
Beneficiation upgrades a low-grade ore into a higher-grade concentrate by separating valuable minerals from waste rock, using methods such as magnetic separation, flotation and gravity separation. Characterization shows which method will work for a given ore.