Renewable Metals, a Perth-based lithium battery recycler, has won the inaugural Supercharge Australia Innovation Challenge Award with its technology that converts battery waste into battery metals.
The process is claimed to achieve more than 95 per cent recovery of the valuable materials in lithium batteries including lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese and graphite.
The approach does not create black mass and it saves 20 to 30 per cent of the costs of standard recycling, the company said in a media release.
Supercharge Australia is a project of two not-for-profit organisations, global clean energy start-up accelerator New Energy Nexus, and Australia’s largest climate tech start-up accelerator EnergyLab.
Since 2016, New Energy Nexus has assisted 5,268 entrepreneurs worldwide, created over 6,000 green employment, and mobilised over USD 1.5 billion in investment.
“Australian innovators are uniquely placed to supply emerging and mature global markets with low impact lithium products and resources to support our energy transition with better batteries,” says Danny Kennedy, CEO of New Energy Nexus and managing director of the California Clean Energy Fund.
“I’ve seen billion-dollar battery recycling start-ups in the United States emerging in the last few years and none have technology as exciting as this,” Kennedy said.
Since 2017, EnergyLab has supported Australian start-ups focused on clean energy and climate technology, with over 150 program alumni.
“Supercharge Australia helps ensure Australia’s energy security by supporting the development of the technology needed here for the renewable energy transition,” EnergyLab CEO Megan Fisher says.
According to her, Australia is in a good position to benefit fully from the battery and electrification revolution.
Sicona placed second with a University of Wollongong-developed technology to produce next gen battery materials technology used in the anodes of lithium-ion batteries for electric-mobility and storage of renewable energy
Roev came in third place; they convert big fleets of utes to electric, addressing unmet demand and managing energy use.
Vaulta, situated in Brisbane, came in fourth place. They manufacture recyclable and repairable high-performance batteries. Vaulta’s batteries are designed, built, and tested in their Brisbane manufacturing plant.
The announcement was made at a gala event hosted by Dan Ilic at EnergyLab in Sydney on Thursday.
