ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — Sandia National Labs has developed a way to recover and remake a valuable part of old lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries power your phones, vehicles, earbuds, and more. Sandia National Labs has found a way to remake their cathodes – the plus sign part of the battery.
Cathodes are extremely expensive to make, and rely on minerals that are only available in a handful of countries around the world. Sandia’s new method upcycles old cathodes, and transforms them in a more affordable, and less timely way.
“The batteries that we’re trying to recycle are found in basically every consumer electronic device,” said Sandia National Laboratories Staff Nanomaterials Chemist Clare Davis-Wheeler Chin. “And so rather then send that to the landfill, we’re trying to not only be able to re-use it and get a US source of the critical materials in that cathode, but we’re getting added value out of it by changing the composition.”…