Dead batteries cough up lithium after a bath in CO₂ and water, boffins say
- Reference: 1768932726
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/01/20/researchers_retrieve_lithium_from_dead_batteries/
- Source link:
The team, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Institute of Technology, recently published their [1]findings in Nature Communications. According to their research, the process not only avoids conventional leaching chemicals and extreme heat to extract lithium from old batteries, but it also uses carbon dioxide in what the authors call a sequestration step, and turns other battery transition metals into new catalysts - with CO₂-rich water doing most of the chemical work.
According to the researchers, more than 95 percent of the lithium in spent batteries can be recovered after mechanochemically treating the cathodes and then leaching them with CO₂-rich water, where carbonic acid formation enables selective separation of lithium as water-soluble lithium bicarbonate.
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"Conducted under ambient conditions without additional grinding aids or leaching agents, this method minimizes environmental impact," the boffins explained. Other "methods often require substantial reagent inputs, produce hazardous emissions and secondary pollution, and generate leaching residues."
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Those residues, the team explained, then typically have to be processed using acid leaching to be converted into salt solutions before reuse, which further reduces their value.
The "three-in-one" strategy developed by the team also eliminates those additional processing needs, with transition metals in the cathode, like cobalt, nickel, and the like, "simultaneously transformed into high-performance oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts," the researchers explained. OER catalysts are a key component in converting electrical energy into stored chemical energy in water-splitting systems, and are used in electrolyzers and related energy-conversion technologies, giving the non-lithium components of lithium-ion batteries a continued role in the energy supply chain.
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Finally, the team claims that their method incorporates some of the carbon dioxide used in the process into bicarbonate and carbonate intermediates, which they describe as a form of CO₂ sequestration.
A distant solution to an immediate problem
Lithium batteries take many forms and can be found in everything from disposable single-use electronics to electric vehicles. As the default form of energy storage used in most electronics, lithium and its rechargeable variant lithium-ion, is being produced in [6]greater quantities each year, with no signs of the battery market slowing down.
It's [7]debatable how many lithium batteries are actually recycled, with an [8]often-cited but [9]contested figure suggesting the number could be as low as just five percent. Regardless of the actual figure, a cleaner and more sustainable method of recycling lithium batteries is necessary and it's not clear whether the Chinese CO 2 method will scale or be commercially viable any time soon.
Case in point, the Chinese team isn't even the first to have figured this particular method out.
[10]UN: E-waste is growing 5x faster than it can be recycled
[11]Battery recycling boosted by dentist-style ultrasonics, if manufacturers can cooperate
[12]Annual electronic waste footprint per person is 11.2 kg
[13]Direct lithium extraction technique for greener batteries gains traction
Ames National Laboratory in Iowa, USA, published its own findings in 2024 on an ambient-temperature method for recycling lithium-ion batteries that relies on water and carbon dioxide rather than harsh chemicals or high heat. Dubbed the Battery Recycling and Water Splitting ( [14]BRAWS ) method, the approach shares the use of CO₂ and water with the Chinese team's work, but focuses on a different part of the battery and emphasizes different outputs.
One key difference we noted is that BRAWS concentrates on extracting lithium from the anode rather than the cathode, recovers lithium in the form of lithium carbonate rather than lithium bicarbonate, and is explicitly designed to produce green hydrogen as a byproduct through water splitting, alongside lithium recovery.
Needless to say, it's 2026 and BRAWS is nowhere in sight as a commercial alternative to more hazardous methods of lithium extraction despite the immediate need for widespread use of such a technology. In other words, don't expect the Chinese method to immediately change the lithium-ion recycling game either.
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We contacted both Ames and the Chinese research team to learn more about how their methods differ and whether we could expect either to scale in the near future, but didn't hear back. ®
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[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-67912-0
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aXAJFRS2mA8mNB1FVvCSRAAAApc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aXAJFRS2mA8mNB1FVvCSRAAAApc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aXAJFRS2mA8mNB1FVvCSRAAAApc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aXAJFRS2mA8mNB1FVvCSRAAAApc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.iea.org/commentaries/the-battery-industry-has-entered-a-new-phase
[7] https://hannahritchie.substack.com/p/battery-recycling-myth
[8] https://www.cas.org/resources/cas-insights/lithium-ion-battery-recycling
[9] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-rate-other-untruths-battery-recycling-hans-eric-melin-m5lde/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/21/ewaste_grows/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/01/battery_recycling_ultrasonic_delamination/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/16/ted_talk_electronic_waste/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/08/can_dle_deliver_environmentally_friendly/
[14] https://www.ameslab.gov/news/new-lithium-ion-battery-recycling-method-is-earth-friendly-and-more-economical
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aXAJFRS2mA8mNB1FVvCSRAAAApc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Um, that is rather required in a scientific paper... It's the whole point of publication.
Even a combined method that takes both the Ames and the Chinese method to recover Li from batteries is a welcome step. I guess the big question is how you take apart the endless little cells without a) turning everything into fire or b) messing it up for the method(s) in question.
Industrialising the two methods will be something pilot plants do, but I would bet on China making the first step to recover Li to shove into new batteries. They are making big strides in cleaning up their energy generation, so if no seriously polluting compounds are made during the process, this could be very good for the electric 'revolution' as a whole.
Tweaking things will lead to improved recovery/recycling rates over time, so the biggest thing people object to with electric cars will eventually be a stumbling block no longer.
lithium metal
I confess that I lost interest in Chemistry early in my A-level, but I somehow doubt that Lithium comes out of this in any other way than as an ion (or salt if solid). Magnesium metal was pretty spectacular as a teacher's demo - I rather doubt whether Lithium could be found in a school chemistry lab.
Re: lithium metal
Lithium is group I and, like Sodium and Potassium, both of which are more reactive as metals, but we had them both in the school lab, Li needs a little help to get going. Mg is fun when it burns, but it's "reasonably" safe to handle because it quickly builds a thin layer of oxide.
Batteries will probably shift to Na-Ion within the next decade and after that I hope we're on fuel cells for large scale use.
Re: lithium metal
I think we had sodium in HS chem. It was in oil if I remember right. I think the teacher would take a tiny bit out for a demo of just what the stuff is capable of. Been so long I don't remember anymore.
Re: lithium metal
> I think the teacher would take a tiny bit out for a demo of just what [Sodium] is capable of
That's using the old noodle!
Re: lithium metal
Lithium is way more reactive than Na or K once it is removed out of its storage liquid (like oil).
I've seen videos of Li vs Na before... it goes kaboom quicker. Mess with it at your own risk.
Re: lithium metal
As the article does say, the lithium comes out as lithium bicarbonate.
Re: lithium metal
Ah those were the days.
School chemistry labs had real chemicals.
Far too dangerous now.
One of my former customers recycles lead / acid batteries. Typically 99% of a lead acid unit can be recvcled including lead electrodes, sulphuric acid recycled into gypsum, lead sulphate & oxides reprocessed into pure lead (gypsum byproduct again) and the plastic casing recycled as PP pellets for re-use.
Lithium batteries are a very different matter and cause many issues (fire, explosion, chemical contamination) if mixed in with lead / acid during the recycling process. There is currently no cost effective process for recovering Lithium at a commercial scaleand so any environmentally friendly cost effective solution should be a winner.
There could be a big difference between....
...the Chinese and US approaches.
The Chinese may invest in this if they think there may be a social / political / commercial /strategic benefit in 5 - 10 years.
The US approach is likely to be, what will our share price look like next quarter?
We don't need to recycle them today
If they keep them sequestered in a specific place (which you probably want to do anyway to monitor for thermal runaway fires) they can be recycled years later when the technology is cost effective.
So it is still a good thing to "recycle" your lithium batteries in an approved way even if they aren't actually getting recycled today. It keeps them out of your local landfill (where battery caused fires are becoming an issue in many places) and gathers them together in some location where they can be recycled in the future. Heck even in the worst case scenario where they are shipped overseas and dumped in a third world landfill, at least they will be in one place and accessible when it becomes cost effective to recycle them.
Re: We don't need to recycle them today
I'm no expert, but from what I've seen long term storage is to be avoided. Worn out, run down, damaged - you don't want to store them anywhere you care about. In bulk, for years? Naaaaah! Even spanking new is potentially unsafe, as shown by [1]StacheD on YT yesterday - someone that _is_ an expert, I highly recommend the channel.
As I understand it, two significant differences between batteries and traditional energy sources (eg. petrol) are: cells can combust without the "external spark" required by (eg) petrol, even after being apparently stable for extended periods; and when they do go, batteries can't be suppressed - it's move them away from other fuel sources (if possible) and let 'em do their thing. So everything we've learnt about preventing "Big bada boom!" needs revising for bulk battery supply chains.
Happy to be corrected.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNelburiNes
Re: We don't need to recycle them today
The thing is that if you discharge the batteries long enough, then isolate the poles to avoid *any* possibility of shorts or water ingress, Li batteries tend to be fairly stable. But - as so often happens, batteries are damaged, their containment vessels are damaged, people dump batteries upon batteries and... well... shorts happen and then the next thing you know you have thermal runaway. Looking at the Tesla battery packs in the cars, they tend to be pretty well-sealed, but your average rechargeable devices are not so much...
To their credit, those researchers have given full details of their methods in the Supplementary Information section so that other researchers in the same area can try out this new lithium recovery technique. It does seem to be a more benign lithium recovery technique and if that is the case then I hope it can be scaled up to the industrial level.