Goodbye to Waste in Recycling: Fraunhofer IFAM Captures Lithium from Waste Water

The Fraunhofer IFAM in Bremen has developed an electrochemical reactor capable of extracting lithium, cobalt, and nickel directly from the process waters generated during battery recycling. The process is based on a screen-printed electrode that selectively captures dissolved metal ions in the water, allowing their recovery in the form of high-purity powders ready to be reinserted into the production chain.

The project, named MeGaBat, is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research (BMFTR) until 2028 and was created to address a specific gap: conventional pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical recycling processes do not effectively recover the metal residues that remain in solution in the process water, which ends up being discharged, with lithium, cobalt, and nickel lost permanently. The IFAM reactor works precisely on this residual flow, downstream of existing processes. As explained by Julian Schwenzel, head of the Electric Storage department at IFAM, the goal is to reduce the share of lithium, cobalt, and nickel that Europe is forced to import. An overview of the process is also available on the dedicated page on the Fraunhofer IFAM website.

Compared to traditional technologies, the electrochemical process does not require aggressive acids or bases and operates at significantly lower energy consumption levels. Preliminary estimates indicate an improvement in the overall efficiency of recycling processes in the range of 30-40%, with output of higher purity. The treated water is not discharged but reintroduced into the production cycle, thereby reducing overall water consumption.

Cleis Santos, who leads the research group on electrochemical recycling processes, noted that the system is also adaptable to cobalt, nickel, and copper depending on the facility's needs. The team is working on the realization of a pilot plant to demonstrate industrial scalability. The multi-reactor architecture would allow for the recovery of different materials simultaneously within a single production site, an important feature for large recycling plants.

Future applications of the process are not limited to batteries: the IFAM team aims to extend the technology to the recovery of rare earth elements from electronic waste, as well as desalination and treatment of hospital wastewater. A model of the reactor will be displayed at the Hannover Messe 2026 (April 20-24), where the MeGaBat project will be presented to the industrial public for the first time in this configuration.