Free4LIB

FREE4LIB is an EU-funded research project on 21 technologies that span the entirety of the Li-Ion battery value-chain. The project’s objective is to pioneer new technologies aimed at establishing sustainable and efficient processes for recycling EOL (End-of-Life) LIBs. 

The project aims to introduce innovative recycling solutions to facilitate substantial materials recovery, consequently enhancing the availability of secondary resources at EU level. The industry is choosing to move towards the electrification of FREE4LIBs mobility to decarbonise the GHG-intensive road transport sector.

Fraunhofer IWKS contributed specifically by the pre-treatment of Li-ion batteries using electrohydraulic fragmentation and an in-house developed wet sorting process. Especially Kona battery modules got disassembled and processed (see picture). Output of our process after separation are the three fractions: plastics, metals and the black mass. These fractions are analysed and distributed to our project partner.

• Funding organisation:  European Commission Horizon Europe
• Timeframe: September 2022 – August 2026
• Funding amount: €9.283.175
• Coordinator: LEITAT Technological Centre
  
• Responsible Fraunhofer IWKS: Dr. Benjamin Balke-Grünewald

Consortium members

CARTIF, ACCUREC, ALIENOREU, AIMPLAS, EUROBAT, AVL, CSIC, ERION, Fraunhofer, EURECAT, IREC-CERCA, FBK, ITL, LUREDERRA, NextMove, NESSTEC, POLIMI, RECYCLIA, SAKARYA, TORRECID, UNIGRAZ, Watt4Ever