Cover Image, Volume 6, Number 6, June 2024

Front cover image: Integrating automation and intelligence into battery sorting can decrease dependence on humans, minimize risk and cost, and enhance sorting speed while upholding competitive performance. In the image, the first robot is capable of extracting bolts and nuts, as well as unscrewing screws from the battery pack, using a camera equipped with vision technology. The second robot then picks up the cells and organizes them into clusters based on their remaining capacity. A third robot cuts the cell case and separates the cathode and anode components from the polymer separator. In article cey2.492, Roy et al. provide a comprehensive overview of the progress made in direct recycling LIBs and discuss several aspects of the recycling process, such as battery sorting, pre-treatment methods, the separation of cathode and anode materials, and the regeneration and quality enhancement of electrode materials.