Trumpf presents laser system for battery recycling
The German technology company is developing laser systems that “safely cut open used batteries and remove the valuable raw materials from the battery foil”. Trumpf presented the new laser processes at the Battery Show Europe in Stuttgart this month.
The laser specialist from the German state of Baden-Württemberg explains that until now, dismantling has mostly been a manual process, which is “time-consuming, slow and sometimes dangerous for the workers”, partly due to the still small quantities of disused electric vehicle batteries. According to Trumpf, laser technology should enable “efficient and automated disassembly” – for example, to remove battery covers or cut cables. The components separated in this way can then be sorted for further process steps.
As soon as it comes to the inner workings of the battery cells, a second laser development will be used. This laser system will enable the extraction of valuable materials in the coating of the foil between battery anodes and cathodes. Between the anode and cathode are thin carrier foils that are coated. At the anode, a copper foil is usually coated with graphite; at the cathode, the coating involves a mixture of lithium and other metal oxides such as nickel, manganese and cobalt. These valuable materials are found in the coating, not in the foil itself.
Using conventional recycling processes, the foils are shredded and then chemically separated into their components. But Trumpf envisages that its laser processes will be able to remove wafer-thin coatings from carrier films. The resulting dust can be collected and used to extract valuable active materials that can then be used for new coatings. Trumpf has not said when the system will be used in an industrial plant for the first time.
Trumpf has been active in battery recycling in several different ways. In 2021 we reported that Jaguar Land Rover joined Trumpf among the investors in a new 20 million US dollar funding round for US start-up Battery Resources. The following year Trumpf entered into a strategic partnership with the battery cell joint venture between Porsche and Customcells, Cellforce, which is now using high-precision laser technology from Trumpf in battery cell production.
“Recycling batteries makes ecological sense and, thanks to laser technology, can now also be implemented economically. Trumpf can draw on extensive expertise in laser welding and cutting for the production of electric car batteries. We have been working with all leading car and battery manufacturers for years. We have incorporated this experience into the development of the new processes,” says Hagen Zimer, CEO of Laser Technology at Trumpf.
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