Factorial & Young Poong to cooperate on solid-state battery recycling
Factorial Energy, a US developer of solid-state battery cells backed by Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Hyundai-Kia, is partnering with South Korean battery recycling company Young Poong to invest in solid-state battery recycling research.
Factorial will supply surplus lithium metal material from its battery manufacturing process to the South Korean company, according to a company statement. Young Poong will then take the material to develop a process for recycling lithium metal. The aim is to use the recycled lithium metal again in new solid-state batteries from Factorial to close the cycle.
The joint project involves recycling excess material from Factorial’s current pilot operations and future production facilities. The company, based in Woburn in the US state of Massachusetts, had already announced activities in South Korea and Japan in 2022. For some months now, the company has also been putting out feelers to Europe with a planned branch in Germany.
Factorial has had development agreements with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Hyundai-Kia going since 2021. In April of the same year, the US company first announced a 40 Ah cell with solid electrolyte, which is supposed to help electric cars achieve a 20 to 50 per cent higher range. In July 2021, the first results of the test runs were published. According to these, it was possible to achieve a capacity retention rate of 97.3 % for a 40 Ah cell at 25 degrees Celsius after 675 cycles. More recent data are not mentioned.
In an announcement this spring, Factorial described its technology, called “FEST” (Factorial Electrolyte System Technology), as “breakthrough” because it “offers greater range per charge and increased safety at a comparable cost to conventional lithium-ion batteries”. In addition, its production is said to be able to use “for the most part” existing lithium-ion battery manufacturing facilities.
In 2022, the company also started construction of a new development and production facility in Methuen, a suburb of Boston in Massachusetts. The funds for this came, among other things, from a US$200 million financing round completed in early 2022, which Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz led.
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