A US consortium is investigating recycling silicon wafers from PV panels for use in batteries for electric vehicles, claiming the recycled material can also cut battery costs, and the project has won funding of $2,825,524 from the US Department of Energy.
Advano says using combined silicon/graphite anodes, in place of graphite anodes, in lithium ion batteries can increase the energy density by nearly a third, reducing the cost of the battery. Now the company has joined with the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Engineering, Charge CCCV LLC (C4V), and Solarcycle and plans to recycle end of life silicon wafers from photovoltaic panels into battery-grade silicone anode material targeted for electric vehicle applications.
The DOE funding will support creation of a regional supply chain in the Louisiana and New Orleans area: Solarcycle will collect and disassemble solar cells, Advano will purify and micronise silicon wafers, and C4V LLC will demonstrate its performance of in batteries.
The funding announcement is part of $61 million in funding allocations from the USDOE Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office. It says that the team will demonstrate material production greater than one ton per year, reduce the cost of the silicone feedstock by 33-66%, reduce carbon intensity by 35-50% and prove the product’s viability as anode material with an energy density 30-80 Wh/kg greater than with the graphite anode material traditionally used in lithium-ion batteries.