Revolutionising battery recycling: Safe high-charge shredding with MTC's DEMO Project
Business challenge
Process Innovation
Sector
Power & Energy
Technology or capability
Process Design
Product Design
Europe currently produces less than 1% of battery active materials, with China dominating the refining process. The UK faces limited opportunities for mining but holds promise in recycling end-of-life batteries and manufacturing scrap. Recycled cathode active material (CAM) offers a 75% lower environmental impact and is 44% cheaper than virgin materials.
Project Challenges
Europe currently produces less than 1% of battery active materials, with China dominating the refining process. The UK faces limited opportunities for mining but holds promise in recycling end-of-life batteries and manufacturing scrap. Recycled cathode active material (CAM) offers a 75% lower environmental impact and is 44% cheaper than virgin materials.
Graphite, which makes up around 40% of battery active material by weight, is often downcycled during conventional shredding. Yet battery-grade graphite commands a market value of approximately $7,000/tonne - 3.5 times higher than natural graphite. Research suggests that wet shredding of partially charged batteries can spontaneously delaminate graphite, improving recovery. However, this introduces significant safety risks, particularly thermal runaway, which the UK currently lacks the capability to manage at scale.
MTC's Solution
MTC collaborated closely with the University of Birmingham and Renewable Metals to retrofit an industrial shredder. The team developed a prototype capable of testing various ambient environments and cooling strategies - wet/dry conditions and gas blankets - to suppress thermal runaway during high state-of-charge shredding.
The shredder includes integrated sensor ports for robust testing, enabling precise control over shred parameters and real-time monitoring of safety and material quality. This innovation allows for safe experimentation with battery cells that retain charge, a previously high-risk process.
MTC were amazing, and went above and beyond to provide a bespoke solution which will allow us to study this area well, and improve safety and sustainability in battery recycling.
Dr Rob Sommerville, Assistant Professor in Mineral Processing, University of Birmingham
The Outcome
The University of Birmingham now operates a remotely controlled shredder that supports safe shredding of batteries up to 15% state-of-charge, with a roadmap to exceed 30%. The system eliminates the need for hammer-milling, which previously introduced contaminants and reduced graphite quality.
The project advanced the concept of high SoC shredding from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 to TRL 4. The new shredder allows changes to tooth geometry, environmental control within the chamber, and live monitoring - transforming a previously manual, PPE-intensive process into a streamlined, safer operation.
Benefits to the Client
By partnering with MTC, the University of Birmingham has:
- Enhanced its capability to investigate lithium-ion battery shredding
- Enabled safe shredding at elevated states of charge
- Improved operator safety and reduced manual intervention
- Increased the quality and value of recovered graphite
- Established a platform for future research in battery recycling
This capability cements the University’s position as a leader in mechanical processing for battery recycling.
The shredder designed and built by MTC enables University of Birmingham to undertake cutting edge research on mechanical segregation of critical raw materials from battery waste. The impact could be game changing, resulting in reduced time and energy consumption and realising 3.5x higher value from the recovered graphite.
Dr Mickey Crozier, Chief Engineer, Component Manufacturing Technology, MTC