RELiEF on the Road: More Presentations on Groundbreaking Lithium Recycling Innovations
As the year is coming to an end the RELiEF partners continue to spread the word about the project’s latest research and advances at major conferences.
LithiumDays 2024 – Iphofen, Germany
The LithiumDays 2024 were held from November 26 to 27 with the theme “Circular Lithium Economy – Bridging the Knowledge Gap”. Our RELiEF member America Quinteros Condoretty from LUT attended the conference to present a poster on “Waste Matters: Servitization for Lithium Recovery” and discuss current insights and scientific developments. LithiumDays is organised by ITEL – Institute for Technologies and Economics of Lithium (Deutsches Lithiuminstitut GmbH), bringing together experts, the lithium industry, politicians and investors.
Battery Innovation Days 2024 – Barcelona, Spain
INEGI boosted science and innovation at the Battery Innovation Days! From November 26 to 27 2024 the battery community came together in Barcelona for two days to explore and discuss the future of batteries in Europe at the Battery Innovation Days 2024. Emanuel Lourenço and Luis Oliveira from RELiEF partner INEGI attended the Battery Innovation Days to connect with professionals from the battery industry and present the work conducted by INEGI in the scope of the RELiEF project. INEGI, who are leading WP8 “Sustainability assessment and Business modelling”, have been working on sustainability and digital solutions for the battery value chain within RELiEF.
ElectROBatt 2024 – Bucharest, Romania
From 31 October to 1 November 2024, RELiEF partner IMNR participated at ElectRoBatt in a poster presentation with the title “Electrodeposition of Lithium Metal: A Novel Approach Using Organic Solvents and Ionic Liquids”, authored by Mihai Tudor Olaru, Beatrice Șerban, Cristian Alexandru Matei, Adelina-Ionela Matei, Cristina Badea, Irina Atkinson, Ana-Maria Julieta Popescu.
The poster presented explores lithium electrodeposition at room temperature using a low-cost electrolyte composed of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), ionic liquid BMIMPF6, and lithium nitrate (LiNO3). Lithium was deposited onto copper substrates and analyzed using various techniques, confirming lithium presence but revealing poor adhesion and low current efficiencies (19–35%). Improvements are needed to enhance efficiency and deposition quality for practical applications.
During the two days of the conference, the poster generated varied and constructive discussions with participants from various countries interested in ionic liquids electrodeposition technology and potential applications, resulting in new potential partnerships for national and international projects.
EMERGEMAT 2024 – Bucharest, Romania
The 7th International Conference on Emerging Technologies in Materials Engineering (EmergeMAT) was held on October 30 – 31, 2024, in Bucharest, Romania, bringing together experts and researchers to discuss innovative advancements in material engineering, focusing on sustainable solutions, energy materials, and recycling technologies.
IMNR participated in the conference presenting a poster titled "Organic and Ionic Liquids Electrolyte Solutions as Versatile Media for Metallic Lithium Recovery", which was co-authored by the “Ilie Murgulescu” Institute of Physical Chemistry. The poster highlighted novel electrolyte systems for lithium recovery. The study highlighted efficient and cost-effective lithium electrodeposition methods for battery recycling, using organic solvents like DMSO and ionic liquids with lithium salts. Analytical techniques (SEM, XRD, ICP-OES) confirmed lithium deposits with minor impurities like lithium hydroxide.
The findings presented contribute to addressing critical challenges in recycling lithium for secondary raw materials. During the poster session the IMNR team exchanged ideas about improving lithium recovery efficiency and discussed future collaborations. Discussions further emphasised the importance of optimizing electrolyte formulations to improve adhesion and current efficiency.
By actively participating in these global events, RELiEF continues to drive forward its mission of advancing sustainable lithium extraction technologies and supporting a circular, low-carbon future.
