How LOHUM Accelerates Net Zero and Zero Waste Efforts via Battery Recycling

Scarcity is the problem, circularity is the solution. Consumable, finite, and polluting oil & coal are ‘the’ imminent problems faced by the Earth’s ecosystems, which now face the collapse of their natural equilibrium. Beyond energy, nearly every industry on the planet is linear, and not circular or closed loop, meaning that nearly every industry does not sufficiently recycle, nor takes responsibility for end-of-life materials.

This is changing, in part due to necessity and in part due to the rising profitability and technological viability of recycling. Lithium-ion batteries, the spine of the clean energy transition that holds together the Renewables and EV ecosystems, are benefitting from circular economy awareness and legislation from near-inception. Battery recycling & reuse mandates are a forward-thinking move driven by net zero efforts, and their proactivity is a lesson that has been learned slowly after decades of neglecting the possibilities of generating significant value from waste.

However, global legislative efforts for industrial decarbonization and Zero Waste were only able to gain momentum because technological and financial viability gaps have been closed by innovators. LOHUM has been at the forefront of innovation with a diverse range of solutions and technologies for circularity in the broader clean energy transition ecosystem. As a Clean Energy Transition Materials company that regenerates critical future materials via battery recycling and battery repurposing, LOHUM has developed multiple pathways for waste-to-value encompassing battery recycling, reuse, residual valuation, and energy transition materials & asset trade.

This edition of the LOHUM Green Gazette touches upon how exactly we contribute to global Net Zero and Zero Waste efforts via battery recycling, aiming to draw the connection between the microcosms and macrocosms of the ecosystem.

LOHUM’s Integrated Approach to Zero Waste Circularity

Our three key verticals are powered by:

• Proprietary NEETM™ Energy Transition Material and Battery Recycling & Refining Technology.
• Proprietary Reuse / 2nd Life for E-Mobility and Stationary Applications- batteries used for renewable energy storage, commercial ESS, Grid ESS, and more. This is enabled by LOHUM’s Proprietary Cell Testing Technology to maximize used battery life.
• The LOHUM DETX™ (Delhi Energy Transition Exchange™) battery price index, provides accurate and weighted ‘future’ pricing information for battery materials and battery buyback. This technology platform stabilizes the ecosystem against price volatility and supply shocks.

We help OEMs fulfill their EPR needs as directed by the Battery Waste Management Rules (BWMR 2022). As an integrated full-service LIB lifecycle management company, we also ensure safe and scientific reverse logistics that are transparent. We have an exhaustively traceable system that we’ve built from our customers’ perspective. We offer end-to-end battery material traceability, and barcode at the source of whatever material we receive, which is then used to track every lot all the way.

Every process & subprocess within our organization is digitized, and we capture data at every point in the process. Our clients get full visibility into what is happening with their material going through our battery recycling, repurposing, and end of life management processes.

LOHUM’s Approach To Circular Economy

LOHUM’s Integrated approach means we serve as a one-stop shop for battery recycling and reuse, and all Li-ion battery raw materials, with best-in-industry overall salvage values.

How Battery Recycling at LOHUM Accelerates Zero Waste Efforts:

We are pioneering battery recycling technology to make battery raw materials last forever. Our patented ‘NEETM™’ Lithium-ion battery recycling technology has been perfected to yield top-quality energy transition materials, produce zero waste, and be highly scalable while incurring low financial and environmental expenses.

Here’s what differentiates us from conventional industries and other recyclers:

• Zero waste: Nothing that goes through us ever reaches a landfill or incineration.
• High yield: Via mechanical, hydro-metallurgical, and electrochemical processes, we recycle all kinds of LIBs, irrespective of their cell chemistry and form. We report full cathode and anode recovery with 95% yield and significantly lower CapEx & OpEx than our western competitors, and industry-edge 99.5% purity of materials refined through NEETM™.
• Full chemical separation: Transition material recycling output is in separated metals, oxides, sulfates, and carbonates.
• Direct Recycling & LFP: We are the only company currently to set up a direct recycling line for Lithium Ferro-Phosphate, where we recover the LFP molecules.
• In-house development: Our entire equipment, design, and process flows have all been developed in-house. We do full material recovery of sulfates, carbonates & sometimes metals directly.

How Battery Reuse at LOHUM Prevents Waste and Prolongs Value:

With our 2nd Life battery reuse technology, we recirculate LIB cells for use in stationary energy storage applications, which are batteries to power the world around us, and intelligently store renewable energy. These may be repurposed into anything from a Solar BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems), Emergency Power backup UPS, Commercial and Home ESS, to Grid Stabilization batteries, and a lot more. The battery reuse process preserves the residual value of energy storage assets for far longer, before that value is destroyed in the deconstructive process of battery recycling.

LOHUM has the quickest turnarounds from battery receipt to Remaining Useful Life(RUL) estimation. We have a fully digitized system through which we can provide near real-time prices for any battery at any stage of its life.

The Scale of LOHUM’s Impact on Net Zero & Zero Waste Targets

Currently, LOHUM can handle up to 10,000 MT of battery scrap every year, which equals enough materials to power 50,000 EV sedans a year. LOHUM has offset over 65,000 MT of CO2e as of September 2023 and is currently 600+ people strong. The company places significant emphasis on R&D, investing 5% of annual revenue into innovation.

Our base hub is in India, and we’re currently expanding across the US and Europe. Our customers and partners are all across the globe in the US, EU, Middle East, East Asia, Africa, and South-East Asia.

Recent Strides in Zero Waste Sustainability at LOHUM

LOHUM recently announced that the company can now produce pure metallic Lithium via recycling. This development has significant implications for both battery recycling and battery manufacturing, as pure metallic lithium, regenerated from used batteries, is the best demonstration of materials going waste-to-value, and is the main prerequisite for the emerging Lithium-air battery technology. The metal is also key for various aerospace, metallurgy, medical, and industrial applications.

The feat also makes LOHUM the only non-Chinese company in the world to be able to produce pure Lithium metal at all, and the first company in the world to produce it via recycling & refining, aka Urban Mining.

To Conclude

Beyond improving the technological and economic viability of Li-ion batteries via zero-waste battery recycling and repurposing, LOHUM is also actively engaged in circularity policy forums and dialogue across the nation and the world. The company is signing battery recycling and 2nd life battery repurposing partnerships around the world to spread awareness and accelerate definite actionable and solutions for a Zero Waste Energy Transition.

Keep up with LOHUM’s series on simplifying the big picture, and spreading awareness about Energy Transition technologies- the LOHUM Green Gazette. Follow us on our LinkedIn page for more insights and updates on sustainability, battery energy, energy transition, circular economy, battery recycling, and battery repurposing!