I-Corps: Advanced Salt Electrolysis Process for the Domestic Refinement of Battery Minerals

Award ID: 2208715

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the potential development of technologies that could perform high-efficiency salt splitting electrolysis more efficiently and at reduced cost via innovations in catalytic materials design and reactor architecture. Current state-of-the-art electrolysis technologies utilize potentially expensive catalytic materials and can have limited efficiency due to their unoptimized cell design. The electrolysis technology to be developed utilizes low-cost carbon-based flow-electrodes that have high-catalytic activity and incorporate the latest innovations from flow-battery cell design into electrochemical mineral refining. The result may be a reduction in cost and a reduction in the environmental impact of what is traditionally a high-emissions chemical process. This I-Corps project is based on the development of potentially novel process technology. This innovation is the electrified, single-step conversion of lithium extracted from natural brines. This technology could have distinct economic and environmental advantages over conventional hydrothermal/chemical conversion processes and may support upstream chemical processes by producing hydrochloride for sorbent regeneration. This electrolysis technology may allow for ion-selective, closed-loop recycling, and could offer cost savings in energy consumption and carbon emissions compared to existing refinement processes that require a consistent supply of reagents. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Jaime A. Camelio