Italvolt teams for battery supply chain research in Milan
Italvolt has teamed up with Politecnico di Milano, to create a closed-loop, circular economy for battery development in Italy.
Under the partnership, Politecnico’s newly established CIRC-eV lab will identify primary supply of raw materials, and analyse opportunities to recover key materials from recycled, secondary sources, such as spent batteries.
The establishment of this partnership follows on from Italvolt’s recently signed partnership with AECOM, which aims to optimise production of lithium-ion batteries while minimising waste.
The Milan university will map supply chains to help Italvolt source raw materials from primary sources for use in Italvolt’s 45GWh Gigafactory at the former Olivetti site at Scarmagno. The lab will assess material quality from primary suppliers to ensure that Italvolt can develop high-quality lithium-ion batteries.
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The lab will also analyse production waste streams for secondary sourcing of key materials. The University will assess production process chains to help Italvolt recover key materials which remain in spent batteries. This analysis will be integral for minimising waste and developing a more efficient production process.
Recycling key materials in batteries will be increasingly important to meet demand over the coming decades. The review will help Italvolt adapt its production process in line with fluctuating supply and demand dynamics. By increasing the efficiency of raw material supply through both primary and secondary sources, Italvolt aims to reduce the final cost of batteries and the overall waste from development process.
“Our partnership with Politecnico di Milano will create the Italy’s first closed-loop, battery development process,” said Lars Carlstrom, Italvolt Founder and CEO of Italvolt. “This partnership will allow Italvolt to produce high-quality, lithium-ion batteries, using recycled raw materials sourced in a sustainable way. This business model for battery development will contribute towards the green industrialisation of the region, as well as the creation of new, highly skilled jobs for the local community.”
Professor Marco Bocciolone, Head of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano said: “We are proud to partner with Italvolt on this strategic initiative, especially in the current global, geopolitical context. The structure and skills of the interdepartmental CIRC-eV Lab of Politecnico will allow for skills development and know-how in building new batteries, by reusing and recycling processes of noble and rare materials from spent batteries – A remarkable example of the circular economy.”
Prof. Marcello Colledani, Head of CIRC-eV, Politecnico di Milano said: “The supply of battery-grade materials for the European battery eco-system, poses a challenge towards the establishment of a truly sustainable supply of high-quality, in-specification, secondary raw materials from the high-value recycling of post-use batteries and production defects. Through this collaboration the multi-disciplinary team of CIRC-eV will investigate the technical enablers for achieving this goal, contributing to the development of a circular battery value-chain within our local eco-system.”
www.italvolt.com; www.polimi.it/
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