Electrochemical Recycling of Lithium Batteries

Supervisor: Dr Rohit Bhagat

Project Overview:

Lithium batteries consist of various valuable compounds embedded in different layers with structural materials surrounding them. Lithium is a strategic material and will become increasingly important as electrification of vehicles continues.  Currently only a small percentage of these batteries are recycled as it is difficult to recover value in a cost effective way. The aim of this project is to develop a molten salt method of recovering value from batteries.

WMG has invested £13 million creating an Energy Innovation Centre that will support this work.

Objectives:

• Investigate molten salts as a method to recover lithium from batteries.
• Construct a lab scale molten process and recover lithium from batteries supplied by Jaguar Land Rover.
• Understand the recovery efficiency of the process and the energy requirements for the process.
• Establish the process at WMG to recycle batteries at the Energy Innovation Centre.

Awards available: 1 award available

Funding: Fees and maintenance at RCUK Level

Length of Award: 3 years (PhD)

Eligibility:  Due to funding restrictions the applicant should be eligible as a UK/EU student

Application Details: 

Applicants should have a First Class UK honour degree or equivalent, in a relevant discipline such as Chemistry, Chemical Engineering or Material Science.

Experience of molten salts, thermodynamics, electrochemistry or a MSc in a relevant subject is highly desirable.

Any enquiries relating to the application process should be directed to Jennifer Kirkwood at engd@warwick.ac.uk. 

For further information, please visit: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/wmg/education/researchdegrees

Deadline: 30 June 2013