At glance
ReLiFe (Recycling Lithium Ferrophosphate) is a project developed in collaboration with a consortium of partners, aiming to demonstrate, initially at pilot scale, an environment-friendly and cost-effective technology for recycling lithium ferrous phosphate (LFP) scrap and end of life (EoL) batteries.
The pilot plant, with a nominal capacity of 500 tn/year, will be established in Xanthi, northeastern Greece, at the industrial complex of Sunlight Group Energy Storage Systems S.A, the project’s Lead Partner.
ReLiFe Project will eventually pave the path for the successful commercialization of an industrial scale LFP recycling plant, which will cover EU’s raw material requirements for battery cells manufacturing and supply 1.5% of lithium demand in Europe.
The project will run for three years, from 1.1.2023 to 31.12.2025, and has received ca. €3.6m funding from EIT RawMaterials under the Grant Agreement 22020, while the partners are also contributing ca. €1.5m of their own funds to the project.
About the Project
LFP batteries are anticipated to dominate the global stationary energy storage market, with a demand exceeding 3,000 GWh by 2030, due to the increasing importance of clean energy technologies. Without proper and effective management, end of life (EoL) LFP batteries may therefore pose an environmental threat (e.g. release of heavy metals or organic pollutants to the environment) on top of the strain caused by further depletion of finite critical energy raw materials. The development and establishment of robust and effective recycling solutions for LFP batteries is thus one of the most pressing global needs, with energy-related, economic and ecological aspects.
Contributions and benefits
The ReLiFe Project aims to establish and demonstrate, initially at pilot scale, a robust metallurgical technology for recycling all sizes of LFP scrap and EoL batteries – i.e. the specific type already produced by Sunlight Group in its facilities worldwide.
The implementation of this ambitious project meets a series of core EU targets regarding Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), sustainability, energy transition, and circular economy. More specifically, it facilitates the recovery of three EU-critical raw materials: lithium, iron phosphate, and graphite. Base metals like copper and aluminum will also be retrieved in the recycling process.
Following the successful operation of the pilot recycling plant, additional capital investments can ramp-up production. This will eventually pave the way for the commissioning of an industrial scale LFP scrap and EoL batteries recycling plant with an annual capacity of thousands of tonnes, the first of its kind in southeastern Europe and one of a handful worldwide.
The subsequent industrialization will not only further support core EU energy targets, but also secure Sunlight’s supply chain in critical raw materials for LFP cell manufacturing, and also expected to create more than 250 direct and 1,000 indirect jobs.
Consortium
The diverse partners comprising the ReLiFe consortium are also contributing €1.5m in own funds for the implementation of the project. The consortium represents a unique mix of academic and industrial partners well-geared towards the goal of establishing an optimized plant for LFP battery recycling.