Lithium News Round up for the Fourth Week of September 2024

Notable and interesting news about the lithium industry.

I thought I would start this weeks news round up with a doozy of an article.

First-person Perspective: The dry-versus-wet debate of lithium battery recycling

I’ve often discussed companies in the lithium industry that use misinformation to promote themselves, but occasionally you come across a company that takes it to an entirely new level. This article, written by John Neuens, a consultant for BCA Industries (parent company of Lithibatt), is a prime example.

1. Lithium Iron Phosphate: He refers to it as LiFePO4, which is commonly used to refer to lithium iron phosphate in the retail market but not in the commercial industry, where it’s simply called LFP. LFP, like NMC and LCO, is a lithium-ion battery because like the others they all use lithium as the mobile ion.

2. Wet and Dry Recycling: Neuens misrepresents these terms. In lithium recycling, "wet" refers to materials that have had the electrolyte added, like end-of-life batteries, while "dry" refers to materials that haven't, like cathode/anode scrap and powders (CAM, pCAM).

3. Discharge and Disassembly: Proper battery recycling requires discharge, either through equipment that stores the energy or immersion in a saline solution. Storing the energy can power recycling operations. Neuens’ explanation of a “wet” system seems to reference the immersion method, which is common and cost-effective, while his description of a “dry” system is inaccurate. Straight shredding without an inert atmosphere or saline immersion isn’t done on a commercial scale in North America, Europe, or China.

Both Redwood Materials and Ascend Elements use thermal pretreatment (pyrolysis) in controlled environments, leveraging thermal runaway, but Neuens’ description of dry recycling is not employed at commercial-scale operations.

This "article" demonstrates a severe lack of knowledge about lithium-ion recycling, and is a prime example of feldercarb.

American Battery Technology Co (ABAT) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript Highlights: Key ...

It finally happened—ABTC posted revenue. However, at $343,000, it was a letdown for many investors. Personally, I was expecting even less and thought it might not make it into this 10K at all. Still, there are more questions they need to answer about their business model to address some major concerns. Many might assume from this 10K that the revenue represents their regular sales pace, but that’s not necessarily the case. Long story short, the company needs to provide much more detail in the coming months to clarify expectations.