Iondrive Ltd (ASX:ION) has seen a boost to its development of DES (deep-eutectic solvent) battery recycling technology, with a series of bench trials conducted at the University of Adelaide confirming its viability, including high metal recoveries and low solvent losses at a 1,000x scale-up.
The latter suggests that the technology is also economically viable, as Iondrive looks ahead to completing other prefeasibility activities, including large-scale process optimisation, and economic considerations of developing and operating an optimised commercial scale recycling plant.
The prefeasibility study (PFS) – which is set for completion in October 2024 – builds on a global market study for the DES project, which showed that this recycling technology offered unique environmental benefits and value proposition when set against incumbent technologies.
Once PFS is complete, Iondrive intends to move ahead to development of a Pilot Plant in 2025.
As part of the large-scale bench trials, metal recoveries were verified independently by Perth company Metallurgical Operations (IMO) in Perth.
Iondrive’s CEO, Dr. Ebbe Dommisse said these trials marked an important milestone for the company.
“It confirms that our DES battery recycling process scales effectively and maintains high metal recovery rates with minimal solvent losses,” he said.
“Our aim is to process black mass where it is needed, particularly in key markets like Europe, US and Australia.
“This approach aligns with the growing demand for recycled battery materials and ensures that the economic value of these critical minerals remains within these regions, rather than being lost through exporting to Asia.”
He added that as part of the process, recovered minerals would be converted to battery-grade materials, directly supplying EV battery manufacturers.
Iondrive has been trading at 0.8 cents.