The Department of Energy established a facility at the Argonne National Laboratory to reuse cobalt and lithium materials from discarded lithium-ion battery products. DOE said Friday that it opened the Battery Recycling Center hoping to recover at least 90 percent of usable battery components and develop new technology out of the materials.
“These efforts will reduce our dependence on foreign sources of critical materials, strengthening America’s economic growth and energy security,†said Daniel Simmons, assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at DOE.
The department also announced a three-phase battery recycling contest to drive investment in technological platforms intended to collect, store and transport discarded batteries. A lithium-ion battery can power multiple defense systems, laptop computers, electric vehicles, mobile phones and energy storage devices, DOE noted.