Battery Materials R&D Centre of Excellence, Tees Valley: Testing and selecting an innovative, low-carbon, lithium pyrometallurgy solution for deployment

电池材料研究

• 批准号: 10074864
• 金额: $ 71.29万
• 依托单位: GREEN LITHIUM REFINING LIMITED
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Launchpad
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10074864
• 关键词: Battery; Materials; R&D; Centre; Excellence

Comprising two local collaborators, the consortium will build upon existing proof-of-concept work undertaken by the project lead:* **Green Lithium** (lead): Teesside-based emerging expert in the lithium-ion battery supply chain, with extensive lithium processing design/testing experience from its full-scale lithium plant (Full-Scale Plant).* **Materials Processing Institute** (MPI) (collaborator): Middlesbrough-based, world-leading minerals processing research body, experienced in thermal processes on minerals, providing expertise and physical trial facilities provision.**Market opportunity**The fast-growing battery-electric vehicle (EV) and storage industries demand battery production upscales rapidly. Battery supply chains include cathode-active-material (CAM) manufacturers, cathode manufacturers, battery manufacturers (gigafactories) and automotive original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which must secure upstream lithium chemical supplies.The UK/EU currently depend on Chinese refined lithium chemical imports, driving major price/volume uncertainty. Onshore lithium refining is essential to meet the c.800,000tonne-per-annum (tpa) European 2030 demand from EVs, with unforecasted demand from energy-storage \[_source:BechmarkMineralIntelligence,2022_\].**Significance**Helping retain first-mover advantage, Green Lithium plans to build the world's first scale-up lithium plant in Teesside (Scale-Up Plant), deploying the alkali-leach hydrometallurgy process for lithium hydroxide monohydrate production.Preparing raw material for hydrometallurgy requires decrepitation of lithium-bearing mineral alpha-spodumene concentrate (spodumene) to beta-spodumene through calcination, an energy-intensive pyrometallurgy process where spodumene is heated to high temperature and circulated to achieve consistent thermal-energy penetration.Based on Green Lithium's previous life-cycle assessment (LCA), low-energy, clean-energy calcining can lead to a 41% reduction in carbon emissions \[_source:Minviro,2022_\] \[_see:Q4-Appendix_\]. Green Lithium's goal is to produce carbon-net-zero lithium. That is only achievable through deployment of electrified or hydrogen-enabled pyrometallurgy processes, which do not exist at scale today.**Innovation**Green Lithium's Scale-Up Plant process flowsheet already has clearly defined second-stage 'alkali-leach' hydrometallurgy and third-stage crystallisation requirements.However, its first-stage pyrometallurgy has greater optionality, with various potentially low-carbon options available. These remain untested ahead of selection. This project therefore accelerates Green Lithium's Scale-Up Plant development by testing which low-carbon pyrometallurgy equipment should be deployed to target net-zero emissions and meet lithium production requirements, namely second-stage hydrometallurgy input requirements.Competitors have not sought to deploy lithium scale-up plants; this project will help keep UK-based Green Lithium ahead of international competition by enabling development of its world-first Scale-Up Plant.**Outcome**This 12-month industrial research project, leading to key Scale-Up Plant pyrometallurgy equipment selection and process design, will drive significant export and profitability growth over a 5-year launch period, stimulating substantive Scale-Up Plant-specific revenues (£46.0m), UK R&D investment (£3.4m), and 13.0 new FTEs operating the plant.

该联盟由两名当地合作者组成，将以项目负责人开展的现有概念验证工作为基础：* **绿色锂**（牵头人）：位于蒂赛德的锂离子电池供应链新兴专家，拥有广泛的经验其全规模锂工厂 (Full-Scale Plant) 的锂加工设计/测试经验。* **材料加工研究所** (MPI)（合作者）：位于米德尔斯堡，世界领先的矿物加工研究机构，在矿物热处理方面经验丰富，可提供专业知识和物理试验设施。**市场机会**快速增长的电池电动汽车 (EV) 和存储行业需要快速扩大电池生产规模。供应链包括正极活性材料（CAM）制造商、正极制造商、电池制造商（超级工厂）和汽车原始设备制造商（OEM），它们必须确保上游锂化学品供应。英国/欧盟目前依赖中国精炼锂化学品进口量增加，导致价格/数量存在重大不确定性。陆上锂精炼对于满足 2030 年欧洲电动汽车的每年约 80 万吨 (tpa) 的需求至关重要，而储能需求则无法预测\[_来源：BechmarkMineralIntelligence，2022_\] .**意义**为了帮助保持先发优势，Green Lithium 计划打造位于蒂赛德的世界第一座规模化锂工厂（规模化工厂），采用碱浸湿法冶金工艺生产一水氢氧化锂。制备湿法冶金原料需要将含锂矿物α-锂辉石精矿（锂辉石）爆裂至β -通过煅烧生产锂辉石，这是一种能源密集型火法冶金工艺，其中锂辉石加热至高温并进行刮擦，以实现一致的热能渗透。根据Green Lithium之前的生命周期评估（LCA），低能耗、清洁能源的煅烧可导致碳排放减少41%\[_来源：Minviro ,2022_\] \[_参见：Q4-附录_\]。 Green Lithium 的目标是生产净碳为零的锂，这只能通过以下方式实现。部署电气化或氢驱动的火法冶金工艺，目前这种工艺尚未规模化。**创新**Green Lithium 的放大工厂工艺流程图已经明确规定了第二阶段“碱浸”湿法冶金和第三阶段结晶要求然而，其第一阶段火法冶金具有更大的选择性，有各种潜在的低碳选项可供选择，因此该项目在选择之前尚未经过测试。通过测试应部署哪些低碳火法冶金设备来实现锂的规模化工厂开发，以实现净零排放并满足锂生产要求，即第二阶段湿法冶金投入要求。竞争对手尚未寻求部署锂规模化工厂；该项目将通过开发其世界上第一个规模化工厂，帮助总部位于英国的 Green Lithium 在国际竞争中保持领先地位。**成果**这个为期 12 个月的工业研究项目，导致关键规模化工厂火法冶金设备选择和工艺设计将在 5 年启动期内推动出口和盈利能力的显着增长，刺激规模化工厂特定收入（4600 万英镑）、英国研发投资（340 万英镑）、 13.0 名新 FTE 负责运营该工厂。