A Lithium Feedstock Pathway: Coupled Electrochemical Extraction and Direct Battery Materials Manufacturing

Lithium is a critical industrial material and an indispensable component in manufacturing Li batteries. However, Li resources are limited and geographically uneven in the Earth’s crust, and its mining is not sustainable due to the low efficiency and complicated separation and refining processes. Here, we report a one-step technology to electrochemically extract Li from low-concentration solutions (brines, seawater, or used Li-ion batteries) into a form to directly produce commercial battery materials, eliminating the costly Li separation/purification steps. By using this approach, Li was selectively extracted and converted into battery cathodes (e.g., spinel LiMn2O4 and layered LiNixMnyCozO2) through heat treatment. Techno-economic analysis indicates that the prepared cathode materials have economic superiorities over even commercial cathodes. With the importance of Li-ion batteries to the overall decarbonization strategy, the demonstration of a one-step Li extraction to a ready-to-use material could expand the access to Li resources at a lower cost by eliminating processing steps.