Sustainable Materials for the Battery Value Chain (SUMBAT)

Funded by the Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway, Industrial Development Corporation of Norway, and Industrial Partners.

SUMBAT is a Green Platform project funded by the Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway, and SIVA, bringing together SINTEF, IFE, and a broad consortium of partners to establish what aims to be the world's most sustainable battery value chain in Norway. The project spans the full battery lifecycle — from raw material sourcing and active material development, through cell production, to recycling and reuse of end-of-life batteries.

Our contribution has focused on characterizing black mass (BM) from end-of-life NMC-based lithium-ion batteries, a complex feedstock containing impurities such as metallic current collectors, PVDF binder, and residual electrolyte. Industrial BM samples from NMC622, NMC111, and NMC901 batteries were analyzed using FBRM for real-time particle size monitoring, quantitative XRD for crystalline/amorphous phase fractions, electron microscopy for morphology and PVDF deposition, and TGA/MS to track binder decomposition. A key contribution was a novel oxidative TGA/MS method for quantifying graphite content in BM, complemented by Raman spectroscopy for structural characterization — together forming a decision framework linking BM properties to pre-treatment and recycling strategy selection.