Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 20 May (HL15733), what progress has so far been made by the Faraday Institution research project into the reuse and recycling of lithium-ion batteries; and when this project is scheduled to be (1) completed, and (2) published.

The Recycling of Lithium-Ion Batteries (ReLiB) project is a cross disciplinary research programme investigating the management of End-of-Life Lithium Ion batteries from Electric Vehicles (EVs). Giving end of first life battery cells and components the opportunity for use in a secondary application may be a way to maximise use and value. The ReLiB project aims to develop automated techniques for determining the characteristics and viability of such components so that they can be re-deployed effectively, secure maximum benefits and inappropriate applications can be avoided. Seven leading UK universities are collaborating on this Faraday Institution funded project (£10,060,130). It aims to address technical, commercial, environmental, policy and regulatory aspects of EV battery management.

As an important part of the transition to low carbon vehicles, the ReLiB project is initially funded for a period of 3 years commencing 1^st March 2018, but with a 10year technology horizon. Outputs from the first phase of the project are now being generated, are and will continue to be, published in peer reviewed scientific journal. Early stage developments include the development of automated systems to dismantle battery packs safely and optimise the processing of the components in the UK. The project will also seek to generate and exploit intellectual property, in the battery re-use and recycling field, generated through the course of the project in collaboration with UK industrial partners.

Developing UK facilities for processing EV batteries will contribute to Government’s aim of developing a more Circular Economy. Recovery of valuable elements such as cobalt and nickel would contribute to securing supplies of the materials required as inputs for indigenous volume automotive UK battery manufacturing facilities.