Born Global Foundation

Engineering Internship

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TIC: Experimental Component Summary

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Wes Yan Sept. 2024

Born Global Foundation

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The Born Global Foundation which is a sustainability non-profit focused on harnessing biomimicry to create products for a more sustainable future.

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It empowers future professionals to tackle pressing global challenges by combining traditional knowledge with cutting-edge technology, fostering sustainable change across industries and communities.

BGF: Engineering Internship

• The project combined biomimicry, engineering, and product design

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• Aimed to develop a filtration system capable of desalinating water and extracting battery salts. Inspired by the filtration mechanisms of mangrove trees.

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• Designed and prototyped an adsorbent filter aimed at isolating battery salts.

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• Gained hands-on experience in engineering design and product development, honing critical skills such as creativity, problem-solving, and technical proficiency.

Market Study and Analysis

Battery Power Requirements by Industry

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[2]

Battery Power Requirements over Time

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[1]

Most Common Batteries

[3]

Recycling vs. Refinement for LIBs

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[5]

Lithium-Ion Battery Production

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[4]

Market Study and Analysis Summary

Exponential Growth in Demand

• Rapid expansion driven by Electric Vehicles (EVs) and consumer electronics, with increasing power and energy storage requirements.

Lithium Demand Surge

• The global lithium market size is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14%-20% in the next few years.

Need for Increased Battery Salt Production

• Battery salt production must scale to meet the exponential growth in the EV and electronics sectors, creating opportunities for innovation and efficiency in extraction and refinement processes

Market Opportunities

• Expansion of mining, recycling, and alternative extraction methods to meet the growing lithium and battery salt demand. Significant opportunities in sustainability-focused battery recycling and circular economy initiatives.

State of the Art

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Current State of Battery Salt Production Processes

[6]

Current State of Battery Recycling

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[7]

Customer and Industry Needs

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Recycling and Process Innovation

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As the demand for battery power increases large players in the industry have a number of requests, particularly noting:

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• Lower Cost Recycling and Refinement Solutions
• Greater Process Efficiency resulting in higher material yield and purity
• Scalability of Recycling Processes
• The development of closed loop supply chains
• Increased Recycling Capacity
• Standardised Battery Designs

[7]

BGF Potential Solution and Preliminary Experimentation

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Battery Salt Filtration

This summer I worked on designing a small scale battery salt filtration system intended to explore the viability of pairing the principles of adsorption and nanofiltration in the separation of battery salts, ultimately contributing to a battery recycling process that is:

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• More Environmentally Sustainable
• Lower capital / less resource intensive
• Higher efficiency

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System Components and Procedure

The experiment included the use of two different filters: a biochar filter intended to act as an adsorbent surface collecting unwanted ions and a commercially available nanofiltration membrane that could filter the solutions’ contents by size and charge.

Biochar was chosen as the adsorbent in this experiment as it is both environmentally friendly and has already been used as an adsorbent in the industry.

Additionally, using commercially available nanofiltration membranes may show that low-cost and mass-manufactured filters suit this application, which would significantly lower the cost of the process at scale.

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System Components and Procedure

The experimental setup is was simple, consisting of a salt solutions of known concentration, conductivity, and pH, that is pumped through the filtration system.

The pH (top) and conductivity (bottom) of the filtered solution were then measured to determine how the filters altered the solution’s properties.

The battery salt solutions that were tested included common battery materials such as: Sodium Chloride, Lithium Chloride, Cobalt Chloride, and Nickel Chloride.

Preliminary Experimental Results

The conductivity measurements allowed for the calculation of the salt rejection rate, giving insight into how well the system separates various battery salts from water. Paying close attention to the separation factors indicated how much of each mineral or ion is successfully filtered through the system. This is crucial for understanding which materials can be effectively recovered and reused in future battery recycling efforts.

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The preliminary results of the experiments were very promising and showed that the prototype filtration system was more effective at filtering out high value salts such as Lithium and Nickel Chloride when compared with Sodium and Cobalt Chloride.

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Potential Economic Viability of

Advanced Battery Filtration Systems

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Applications of Battery Filtration Technology

The preliminary results of the experiments show potential promise for this technology being implemented in both recycling and material refinement processes.

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Battery Recycling

Implementing this filtration technology could improve efficiency and material yield in the later stages of pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical processes.

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Battery Material Production

Increase yield and process time of brine filtration processes for rare earth material refinement. Additionally it could also be used for increasing the purity of mined materials in hard rock mining.

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Potential Value Proposition

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This technology poses a number of strong value propositions that may entice investment from battery recycling companies, battery manufacturers, sustainability companies, government agencies, and VC or other private capital.

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Efficiency and Cost Savings

• Reduces operational costs by optimizing energy, water, and chemical usage.
• Lowers the cost of recycling and refinement by increasing metal recovery rates, leading to higher profitability.

Sustainability and Environmental Impact

• Enables compliance with increasing environmental regulations.
• Reduces waste and minimizes hazardous material discharge, making the recycling process more eco-friendly.
• Aligns with the circular economy, a key selling point for sustainability-driven companies and investors.

Market-Ready Solution

• A hypothetical filtration system, which is ready for commercial deployment, with proven performance in pilot projects and scalability for large operations could pose attractive to large companies recycling or manufacturing batteries at scale

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Potential Financial Impact

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The application of advanced filtration systems for battery salt separation using the technology I researched over the summer could result in cost cuts for large battery recycling or refinement operations.

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Reducing Operational Costs

• Lower energy, water, and chemical usage, reducing operating costs by up to 10-20%.
• Extended equipment life and reduced maintenance costs could decrease OPEX by 10-15%.

Increased Metal Recovery and Higher Yields

• Improved filtration efficiency could increase recovery of valuable metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel by 10-20%.
• Higher purity materials can fetch premium prices, boosting revenue by 15-25% per ton of recovered metals.

Lower Cost per Ton Processed

• Reducing processing costs by 10-15% makes battery recycling more cost-effective, allowing companies to process higher volumes with existing infrastructure. This would contribute to making battery recycling as a whole a more viable economic opportunity.

Potential Savings for Battery Manufacturers

• Recycling costs could be reduced by up to 20%, providing a cost advantage to battery producers, translating to a more affordable battery supply chain or increased profit margins.

Potential Revenue Generation

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Depending on the financial and exit strategy of a company marketing such filtration technology, there are a number of different possible long term revenue generation sources.

Licensing Revenue

• Patented technology licensing could generate ongoing revenue streams from recyclers and material refiners.
• Projected annual licensing revenue: $5M–$10M by licensing to 10–15 recyclers globally.

Direct Sales of Filtration Units

• Selling turnkey filtration systems could generate upfront revenue from each unit sold, with profit margins of 20-40%.
• Estimated sales revenue: $2M–$5M annually with 5–10 systems sold per year at $500K per unit.

Recurring Revenue from Service and Maintenance Contracts

• Service agreements could provide an additional 10-15% of sales value annually.
• Subscription-based maintenance and upgrades: $500K–$1M annually.

Value-Added Services

• Consulting, training, and integration services can add $250K–$500K annually in professional service revenue.

Potential Stakeholder Investment

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There are a number of factors that would make investment in a company possessing such technology attractive to industry stakeholders

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High-Growth Market Potential

• Rapidly growing battery recycling industry, projected to reach $31 billion by 2030, driven by the growth of electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems.
• Increasing demand for critical metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel boosts the need for cost-effective recycling solutions.

Strong Return on Investment (ROI)

• Licensing, sales, and recurring service revenues offer multiple avenues for long-term profitability.

Sustainability and ESG Alignment

• Investors increasingly prioritize Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria. This technology directly aligns with sustainability goals, reducing waste, emissions, and reliance on new materials.

Scalability and Global Impact

• The technology is scalable across geographies and industries, offering significant growth opportunities in regions with evolving battery recycling infrastructure.

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Potential Financial Projections and Revenue

Below is a projection for the potential revenue that could be generated by a new company marketing this advanced battery filtration system to industry partners of varying size (for differences in system sales and leasing opportunities). It does not take into account the costs or initial investment required to create such a company. Additionally it also assumes that this technology has been fully developed and is refined enough to be deployed a the start of year 1.

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Revenue Model Overview

• Licensing Fees: $5M–$10M annually by Year 3 through strategic partnerships with recyclers.
• System Sales: $2M–$5M annually with potential growth as the recycling market expands.
• Service Contracts: $500K–$1M annually from recurring maintenance and consulting agreements.
• Total Projected Revenue: $7M–$15M by Year 3, with scalable growth as adoption increases globally.

Potential Investor Returns

• Estimated ROI of 25-30% over 5 years through a combination of licensing, system sales, and recurring revenue streams.
• Opportunity to capture significant market share in a high-growth, sustainability-driven sector.

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Thank You!

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References

[1] Iea. (2023, April). Battery demand by region, 2016-2022 – charts – Data & Statistics. IEA. https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/battery-demand-by-region-2016-2022

[2]Solomon, M. (2024, January 24). The rise of batteries in six charts and not too many numbers. RMI. https://rmi.org/the-rise-of-batteries-in-six-charts-and-not-too-many-numbers/

[3] Battery University. (2021, December 3). BU-107: Comparison table of secondary batteries. https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-107-comparison-table-of-secondary-batteries

[4] Lithium production by country (1995-2021). World Economic Forum. (2023, January 5). https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/chart-countries-produce-lithium-world/

[5] Battery Recycling Market Size & Share Analysis Report, 2030. (n.d.). https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/battery-recycling-market

[6] MIT. (2024, February 12). How is lithium mined?. MIT Climate Portal. https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/how-lithium-mined#:~:text=Until%20recently%2C%20most%20lithium%20mining,behind%20lithium%20and%20other%20elements.

[7] Yu, X., Li, W., Gupta, V., Gao, H., Tran, D., Sarwar, S., & Chen, Z. (2022, September 8). Current challenges in efficient lithium-ion batteries’ recycling: A perspective. Global challenges (Hoboken, NJ). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9749077/

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