FAQ
Yes, absolutely, and at industry-leading recovery rates.
Lithium is often perceived as difficult to recover due to its chemical behaviour at high temperatures and the limitations of traditional recycling flowsheets. Historically, high-temperature smelting technologies could not efficiently capture lithium from li-ion batteries, meaning it was not recovered as a valuable resource. But Umicore has fundamentally changed that by developing a pyrometallurgical process that effectively ‘cracks the code’ to recycling lithium at this stage.
Building on decades of metallurgical expertise, we have developed a dedicated pyro-hydro process that enables the efficient and safe recovery of lithium from end-of-life batteries and battery production scrap. Our technology can recover over 90% of lithium and over 95% of cobalt, nickel, and copper. Our patented pyrometallurgical step separates metals in a matter of seconds, directing lithium into flue dust, which can then be processed via a separate hydrometallurgical route into battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide.
This is not theoretical. It is demonstrated, operational technology protected by more than 30 patents (over 20 granted), and developed fully in‑house.
No. Not with Umicore’s technology.
Our advanced smelting technology applies an ‘autogenous’ process, which uses the energy stored within the batteries themselves. In practice, this means our furnace operates without requiring additional external energy, drastically reducing direct energy consumption compared to most traditional pyrometallurgical processes.
When looking across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions of Umicore’s full pyro-hydro recycling process, our independently reviewed lifecycle assessment shows that our flowsheet has a lower overall environmental footprint than currently common mechanical–hydrometallurgical processes. Our process is also designed to minimise waste, water use, and chemical consumption.
In short: It’s often assumed that pyro‑hydro means more COâ‚‚ emissions. It doesn’t. Umicore’s integrated process combines low environmental impact, high metal recovery and industrial safety.
No. Recycled metals perform just as well as primary metals. A common misconception is that metals degrade when recycled. But metals are elemental: their properties do not change through multiple life cycles. What matters is the recycling and purification process, and this is where Umicore excels.
Our pyro-hydro process produces battery grade materials that meet the strict purity criteria required for high performance cathode materials. The high temperature pyrometallurgical phase removes the bulk of impurities early on, creating a highly pure alloy of nickel, cobalt and copper. This allows the subsequent hydrometallurgical refining step to be lean and efficient, finetuning purity to the levels required for next generation battery applications.
For lithium, the separate hydrometallurgical purification process produces lithium carbonate or hydroxide, ready to be re‑introduced into the battery value chain.
The outcome is simple: Recycled metals refined through Umicore’s process are identical in quality, performance, and purity to primary metals.
Actually, recycling is inherently more efficient. The ores mined for nickel, cobalt or copper often contain only small fractions of these metals. In contrast, end-of-life batteries already contain high concentrations of valuable metals. This makes recycling faster, more efficient, and less resource-intensive than primary production.
Through Umicore’s pyro-hydro flowsheet, these metals can be recovered with industry leading yields while minimising waste and environmental impact. The combination of the high concentration of valuable metals within end-of-life batteries, recovery efficiency of our process and the ability to reuse the recycled metals in new batteries means battery recycling is not just a sustainability requirement. It is a strategic source of critical raw materials.
As battery volumes surge in the coming decade, recycling of end-of-life batteries is expected to become the most efficient and economical way to supply materials for next-generation batteries.
Yes. Today. Umicore operates a dedicated lithium-ion battery smelter in Hoboken (Antwerp, Belgium), which forms the core of our industrial pilot plant. This smelter has a current processing capacity of 7,000 tonnes per year, equal to roughly 20,000 electric vehicle batteries.
This facility operates with proven technology capable of handling a wide variety of nickel-cobalt rich battery chemistries. It plays a crucial role in demonstrating the scalability, reliability and safety of our technology while supporting Umicore’s closed-loop approach: recovered metals can be reintroduced into cathode active material production.
In parallel, the technology is ready for large scale deployment when feedstock availability and market conditions align.