Battery manufacturers and their supply chains are facing a significant challenge as the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) continues to grow. To meet this challenge, Sensmet, a Finnish start-up business, has developed a new technology that promises to revolutionize the manufacturing and recycling of battery metals. The technology is called Micro-Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy (µDOES) and provides real-time metal concentration results equivalent to laboratory ICP-OES analysis. This is a significant improvement over the traditional method of batch sampling and laboratory analysis, which typically incurs a delay of 4-10 hours.
µDOES enables the multi-metal real-time analysis of aqueous samples and can measure multiple metals, including alkali metals, in real time. This robust, fully automated online measurement provides enormous advantages for process management and quality control, reducing waste and improving product purity. With successful trials at several plants, the lithium manufacturing industry is excited about this breakthrough technology.
As governments around the world pledge to discontinue sales of petrol and diesel vehicles, the demand for batteries in EVs is set to escalate. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global sales of new EVs grew from 3 million in 2020 to 6.6 million in 2021. It is estimated that by 2050, 2 billion battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel-cell electric light-duty vehicles will be needed to meet net zero targets.
Lithium production must be efficient, high-quality, and fast to meet this demand. The production of high-purity lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate is critical for battery manufacturing, but impurities represent a significant challenge. Impurities can cause poor charging performance, lower the range of EVs, require more frequent charging, and in some cases, cause batteries to overheat.
Sensmet’s µDOES technology enables the efficient manufacture of lithium and helps reduce battery metal impurities, such as sodium, potassium, copper, zinc, and calcium. Strict monitoring and control can reduce impurity levels and prevent the cost and delay incurred by a retreatment. Keliber, a subsidiary of Sibanye-Stillwater, used the µDOES analyzer in a pilot-scale test program in 2022 and was impressed by the results.
In conclusion, Sensmet’s µDOES technology is a game-changer for the battery manufacturing and recycling industries. The real-time metal concentration results and multi-metal analysis capabilities of µDOES provide enormous advantages for process management and quality control. As the demand for EVs continues to grow, this technology is poised to play a critical role in meeting that demand.