REBELION Research and development of a highly automated and safe streamlined process for increased Lithium-ion battery repurposing and recycling

REBELION is a project funded by the European Union with the objective of addressing the waste management challenges posed by lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) used in electric mobility. After their second life, recycling represents not only the most environmentally friendly alternative for batteries, but also a natural and economic resource since the raw materials contained in LIBs can be valorised for further manufacturing. This is particularly relevant in the EU, which is a net importer of critical raw materials while up to 40% of the EVs are sold in Europe. Therefore, a solid recycling industry can become the European mining equivalent, promoting both environmental and economic benefits to the EU region.

The overall goal of REBELION is to develop cutting-edge technologies to promote a circular model for LIBs for electric mobility, enabling feasible industrial practices in the coming years to maximise second-life applications and improve recycling efficiency. This will require achieving the following specific technical objectives:

• Automated testing and dismantling system for different battery formats
• Development of standardised battery labelling system
• Electric noise analysis technology validation for Li-Ion batteries
• Safety protocol for every step of the value chain
• Validation of the overall performance of the two proposed circular models
• A roadmap to the market for individual and joint exploitation of the results

REBELION aims to improve battery technology for efficiency and safety. They’re using blockchain for a digital battery passport to provide data to recyclers and users. They’re also focused on safety procedures for handling used batteries in large quantities.

ADBE's responsibility

On behalf of the Nottingham Trent University, the Advanced Design and Manufacturing Engineering Centre (ADMEC) participates in the REBELION project. The ADMEC leads the ICT platform and battery labelling work package, coordinate and conduct the research in ICT infrastructure, traceability, block chain, digital battery passports related to the screening, diagnosis, repair and recycling of batteries, as well as eco-cost, eco-saving and eco-accounting across different work packages. They also contribute to repurposing second life batteries in lighting products, and open science by publicizing project outcome with least four papers in high quality open journals, in addition to conference presentations and press releases.

NTU team works with the following partners in conducting the project:

• Universitat Politecnica De Valencia, Spain
• Accurec-Recycling Gmbh, Germany
• Sig De Raee Y Pilas Sociedad Limitada, Spain
• Ona Product Sl, Spain
• Universidad Nacional De Educacion A Distancia, Spain
• The University of Birmingham, UK
• Fondazione Icons (Italy), Erion Energy, Italy
• Erion Compliance Organization Scarl, Italy
• Volkswagen Group Italia S.P.A., Italy
• Technical University of Košice, Slovakia

The NTU team is led by Professor Daizhong Su (principal investigator) and Associate Professor Wenjie Peng (co-investigator).