On October 17, 2023, Chalmers University of Technology dropped some exciting news: a fresh, green approach to battery recycling. Léa Rouquette, a bright PhD mind at Chalmers, shared a first-of-its-kind achievement: separating a heap of lithium using plant-based oxalic acid and waving goodbye to all the aluminium. Why the buzz? Every battery packs aluminium, and getting it out without losing other metals is the trick. “So far, no one has managed to find exactly the right conditions for separating this much lithium using oxalic acid, whilst also removing all the aluminium. Since all batteries contain aluminium, we need to be … Continue reading Lithium’s New Best Friend: Chalmers University’s Fusion of Nature and Science in Plant-Powered Battery Recycling!