News

Pre-treatment validation for upscaling steps

21/01/2026

Although speakers at Battery Innovation Days this year underlined the delay of the first batches of end-of-life [EoL] electric vehicle batteries, mainly due to their extended life duration, participants unanimously agreed that recycling processes must evolve. This message comes in anticipation of the first massive return of EoL batteries. Traditional pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes, while effective for metal recovery, often overlook the non-metallic components: electrolytes, binders, and separators, thus missing out on a veritable circular economy.  

The RHINOCEROS project has now validated several pre-treatment technologies at laboratory scale to recover valuable components, from the black mass, electrolyte solvents, binders, separators and current collectors (Cu, Al) from LIBs. In fact, in 2025, RHINOCEROS partners validated an integrated recycling process with a minimum efficiency of >90% for electrolyte, >80%  for polymers and >95% for Li. 

Over the past year, partners have tested and compared various pre-treatment processes, including mechanical shredding, vacuum drying, pyrolysis, supercritical CO₂ (scCO₂) extraction. Rigorous analysis reported two approaches that yield most promising results and later validated them at lab scale: 

  • Mechanical treatment combined with scCO₂ extraction for electrolyte and binder recovery: this technological route yields high material recovery – 99% electrolyte and 60% PVDF binder, with over 98% polymer purity. Using CO₂ as a recyclable solvent eliminates hazardous emissions and reduces energy demand. The process also improves workplace safety and produces cleaner black mass for downstream hydrometallurgical steps.
    Learn more about Supercritical CO2
  • Thermal treatment [vacuum drying combined with pyrolysis] for organic removal and black mass preparation: a process technologically mature, already compatible with existing infrastructures, which delivered high-quality organic-free black mass and over 95% recovery of active materials. On the other hand, it remains an energy-intensive process that emits hazardous gases. 
  • Reactive milling, while technically interesting for cathode material reduction, was excluded due to its low technology readiness, slow kinetics in graphite-rich materials for mechanical route, and redundancy with high-temperature pathways.
Criteria  Route 2: Mechanical + scCO₂  Route 4: Thermal Treatment 
Technology Readiness  Medium – scCO₂ integration maturing  High – widely used in waste processing 
Environmental Impact  Low energy use, minimal emissions, reusable CO₂ solvent  High energy demand, toxic gas emissions 
CAPEX/OPEX  Moderate – scCO₂ adds cost but offsets via recovery  High – energy-intensive, complex gas handling 
Material Recovery  High electrolyte & polymer recovery, moderate PVDF  Moderate electrolyte recovery (43%), no PVDF and partial fluorine recovery. 
Black Mass Quality  Organic-free, high purity, suitable for leaching  Organic-free, reduced metals, ideal for leaching 
Workplace Safety  Safer, fewer emissions  Fire hazard, HF/POF₃ gas risks, thermal control 
Regulatory Compliance  Fewer regulatory hurdles for emissions; polymer recovery supports compliance  Established permitting pathway for pyrolysis but more complex exhaust control 
Engineering Modelling  Scalable modular design, well-defined equipment chain, adaptable  Mature/established pyrolysis design, but complex off-gas treatment integration. 

2026 plans foresee the development of an optimised thermal pre-treatment for black mass production at pilot scale that will combine mechanical and thermal treatment to recover the solvent, polymer and fluorinated compounds.