Despite recent technological breakthroughs, lithium-ion battery recycling continues to vex scientists in several ways. Battery recycling remains an expensive process that often requires melting down entire batteries in order to recycle small amounts of precious metals.
However, great minds are increasingly finding ways to repurpose and recycle batteries that are past their prime, as scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory recently did when they discovered that batteries of differing ages, sizes, and origins could be combined to form a unique kind of energy storage system.
In a paper written for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) Electrical Energy Storage Application and Technologies Conference (EESAT), scientists Michael Starke, Steven Campbell, Benjamin Dean, and Madhu Chinthavali outlined their discovery, which could have major implications for the reuse of lithium-ion batteries — especially those used in electric cars.
“In the coming years, the electric grid is expected to face many challenges,” the authors wrote, detailing issues like increases in variable renewable energy sources and threats from the overheating of our planet. “Low cost and ubiquitous energy storage solutions will be key to overcoming these challenges.”
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