All posts tagged: Battery Recycling

Cirba marks Earth Day with reforestation and battery recycling push

Cirba marks Earth Day with reforestation and battery recycling push

As Earth Day approaches on April 22, Cirba Solutions is scaling up its environmental efforts with a dual focus: restoring forests and expanding access to safe battery recycling across the US. The initiative reflects a growing emphasis on measurable environmental impact – restoring damaged ecosystems while tackling the less visible, but equally urgent, challenge of responsible recycling. Karen Gay, Manager, Community Engagement at Cirba Solutions, commented: “Through these efforts, we are able to reduce waste and minimise the need for raw material extraction, thereby conserving natural resources. “Battery recycling is a fundamentally sustainable option, and it’s critical to the environment that we prioritise expanding consumer and business access to recycling end-of-life batteries, increase awareness around the benefits and implement safe and responsible solutions for disposing of batteries properly.” Reforestation efforts gain ground To mark Earth Day, Cirba Solutions is funding the planting of nearly 400 trees through the Arbor Day Foundation, creating three new forest sites in areas hit hard by environmental damage. The initiative responds to decades of logging, wildfires and disease that have …

Battery recycler Ascend Elements files for bankruptcy

Battery recycler Ascend Elements files for bankruptcy

Ascend Elements said on Friday it has started Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S., a heavy blow to investors who had sunk nearly $900 million into the company.  Linh Austin, Ascend’s CEO, announced the decision in a post on LinkedIn late Thursday night. He said the company faced “insurmountable” financial challenges. Ascend’s filing comes amid a softening market for electric vehicles in the U.S. and was likely compounded by the Trump administration’s decision to cancel a $316 million grant intended for a Kentucky facility that was under construction. At the time, $204 million was disbursed, but Ascend had to look for additional capital to make up the shortfall. The market for EVs in the U.S. has hit a rough patch recently. Though sales surged prior to the end of tax credits in September last year, they haven’t quite recovered. Analysts predicted that customers who might have bought this year pulled their purchases forward to take advantage of the credit, but it didn’t help assuage automakers’ fears. Since then, several automakers have dialed back their …

Celebrating 35 years of battery recycling leadership

Celebrating 35 years of battery recycling leadership

In recognition of National Battery Day on 18 February, Cirba Solutions, a national leader in battery recycling and critical minerals recovery, is celebrating 35 years of advancing responsible, safe and scalable battery recycling in North America. Founded in 1991, the company has helped shape the modern battery recycling industry in North America – pioneering commercial-scale lithium-ion processing and building one of the most comprehensive operational footprints coast to coast. As global battery demand accelerates, the company continues to strengthen domestic supply chains by focusing on the recovery and refinement of critical minerals required to support that growth. Cirba Solution’s milestones cement its position in the global battery recycling industry Over its 35-year history, Cirba Solutions has achieved milestones that define its leadership in the industry: First company in the US to process lithium-ion at a commercial scale. One of the only companies in the world to process lithium metal, used in the next generation of battery technology. The only battery recycler in the US with an internal logistics fleet, ensuring end-to-end control, safety and compliance. …

UK gigafactories at a crossroads: Report urges government action

UK gigafactories at a crossroads: Report urges government action

Britain’s ambition to become a global leader in electric vehicle batteries is hanging in the balance, according to a new cross-party report that warns the next 12 to 18 months will determine the future of UK gigafactories and the wider automotive industry. The UK Gigafactory Commission, backed by the Faraday Institution, has published a sweeping set of recommendations aimed at accelerating battery investment, protecting more than 200,000 automotive-linked jobs and safeguarding the UK’s industrial competitiveness. Its central message is stark: without faster, more coordinated government intervention, the UK risks being overtaken by rivals in Europe, the US and Asia. A narrow window for investment Global competition for battery manufacturing is intensifying as countries race to secure supply chains for electric vehicles and energy storage. While the UK has made progress through initiatives such as the Battery Strategy, the Industrial Strategy and targeted funding programmes, the Commission concludes that incremental progress is no longer enough. Chaired by former Business and Defence Secretary Lord Hutton of Furness, the Commission argues that Britain is at a critical inflexion …

Materia AI’s platform to power EV battery circular economy

Materia AI’s platform to power EV battery circular economy

Materia AI has been awarded a UK Government grant to accelerate the development of ReGenTrace AI, a platform positioned as the UK’s first AI-driven digital system built specifically to support a circular EV battery ecosystem. The funding marks a milestone for the startup as it works to modernise how electric vehicle batteries are recovered, processed and reintegrated into the supply chain at the end-of-life. Awarded through Innovate UK, the grant forms part of the government’s ‘Catalyst for Early-Stage Startups’ programme, which backs companies working in frontier technologies including artificial intelligence, engineering biology, quantum and advanced connectivity. Building digital infrastructure for a circular battery future Under the programme, Materia AI will develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of ReGenTrace AI, laying the digital foundations for a scalable EV battery circular economy. The platform is designed to address a growing challenge facing the UK: the rapidly increasing volume of end-of-life EV batteries expected over the next decade. As EV adoption accelerates and demand for critical minerals intensifies, Materia AI argues that a data-driven, circular supply chain will …

SAFELOOP pioneers safer, high-performance Li-ion EV battery

SAFELOOP pioneers safer, high-performance Li-ion EV battery

The SAFELOOP project is committed to developing a safe, sustainable, and high-performance lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery for the European EV industry. SAFELOOP (Securely Advancing Future EVs with Li-Ion batteries through Optimized Pathways) is a 36-month project launched in June 2024, bringing together 15 partners from 11 countries. SAFELOOP is funded by Horizon Europe – the European Union’s flagship research and innovation funding programme. SAFELOOP secured €5m of funding from the European Commission. Fig. 1: Project partners and location map Growing urgency for more efficient and reliable energy storage In a mobile and fast-paced society, the demand for energy storage solutions has never been more critical. As we strive to build a sustainable future relying on renewable energy sources, the need for efficient and reliable energy storage becomes paramount. The SAFELOOP project is reshaping how batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) are made. The project is developing innovative key battery components – anodes, cathodes, separators, and electrolytes – using recycled materials provided by its consortium members. These will be combined into battery packs designed for e-buses. SAFELOOP aims …

Scaling solid-state battery manufacturing for Europe

Scaling solid-state battery manufacturing for Europe

The SOLiD project is developing next-generation lithium-metal batteries, combining safety and performance with recyclability for Europe’s clean energy future. On the path to a climate-neutral future, few technologies are as indispensable and as closely scrutinised as the battery. Powering everything from smartphones to electric vehicles (EVs), batteries sit at the heart of the energy transition. But as demand increases, so do concerns about sustainability, cost, and the physical limits of today’s dominant lithium-ion technology. SOLiD is an ambitious EU-funded project aimed at redesigning the rules of battery manufacturing. Launched in September 2022, SOLiD brings together 14 partners across nine countries, ranging from industrial powerhouses to nimble SMEs and leading research institutes. The goal of the project is to create a sustainable pilot-scale process for the next generation of solid-state lithium-metal batteries, which promise higher energy density, improved safety, longer lifespan, and recyclability by design. Three years after SOLiD’s outset, the project has reached a turning point. Its breakthroughs in electrode coating, electrolyte formulation, and digital quality control are paving the way for Europe to scale …