Lithium-ion battery recycling

[electronic sounds, CSIRO researcher adjusts large machinery]

 

[Dr Anand Bhatt faces camera]

 

Dr Anand Bhatt: CSIRO's been looking at battery technologies for the past 20-odd years. We've had a number of successes, such as developing the UltraBattery, or supercapacitors.

 

[Dr Bhatt looks inside battery equipment]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: We're currently looking at applying batteries for home energy, all the way through

 

[Lithium-ion battery test equipment shown]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: to grid systems, as well as, into the future,

 

[Rooftop solar panels shown]

 

[Dr Bhatt addressing camera]

 

Dr Bhatt: looking at how to recycle batteries that,when they each their end of life.

 

[Female researcher conducts battery experiment, wearing lab coat and safety goggles]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: The majority of lithium batteries aren't actually recycled, and most of them

 

[Rubbish dump/landfill site shown]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: end up in landfill sites. There's a lot of energy still left

 

[Battery control panel shown]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: in batteries when they reach the end-of-life applications.

 

[Dr Bhatt addressing camera]

 

Dr Bhatt: Worst case scenario, if a battery is punctured, or short-circuits, with a little bit of electricity still in there, you can cause fires, or explosions.

 

[Landfill fire shown]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: So, we're trying to find a solution that

 

[CSIRO battery laboratory shown]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: can cover all of the lithium batteries, which are the here-and-now, as well as

all the new batteries which are being discovered and investigated in the laboratories at the moment.

 

[Dr Bhatt addressing camera]

 

Dr Bhatt: For home energy systems, as well, all the way up through to the grid, lithium, again, is becoming

 

[Lithium-ion battery components shown]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: more and more important in these new applications.

 

[Dr Bhatt addressing camera]

 

Dr Bhatt: Only three percent of what's being sold in Australia

 

[3% text shown on screen]

 

Dr Bhatt: is either collected and sent off-shore for recycling. 97% ends up in landfill sites.

 

[97% text shown on screen]

 

[Rubbish dump/landfill site shown]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: Before we throw the battery away,

 

[Dr Bhatt using CSIRO lab equipment]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: can we use it to power something else? So, the classic example is taking a

 

[Electric vehicle refuelling station shown]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: electric vehicle battery, when it reaches its end-of-life in a vehicle,

 

[Dr Bhatt addressing camera in front of large lab equipment]

 

Dr Bhatt: it still has some energy, where it could be used potentially to power homes, or the grid.

 

[Rooftop solar panels shown]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: Try and learn and understand how much

 

[Male and female researchers shown in laboratories]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: further we can push this before we really do need to dispose of them. By understanding how a battery is made from the start, all the way from mineral resources

 

[Dr Bhatt addressing camera in front of large lab equipment, female researcher in background]

 

Dr Bhatt: through production, through the battery manufacturing industry and usage, we have a really good understanding

 

[Female researcher uses lab equipment]

 

Dr Bhatt voiceover: of how a battery should be disposed,

and how it should be recycled.

 

[electronic sounds, CSIRO logo appears with text: ‘Australia’s innovation catalyst’ + www.csiro.au]