Sustainable battery production is a major challenge for the future of electrification. The rise in battery usage, particularly in portable electronics and electric vehicles, has led to a massive increase in the demand for critical battery materials. However, global supply has already begun to strain under the increased demand and projections predict that the global demand could easily surpass global supply in a matter of decades.

Current battery recycling and recovery techniques for battery components involve multistep regenerative processes through either pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical, or direct recycling methods route. Our work demonstrates for the first time, the dissolution and electrochemical deposition of transition metal oxides in the same solvent for sustainable battery material usage and recovery for slurry cast and electroplated Li-ion battery cathodes. Ultra-dense, high-performing, binder and additive free cathodes are formed at the end of the recycling process.

This discovery generates high quality energy dense battery cathodes from “end-of-life” batteries and paves the way towards a simplified recycling conditions for more sustainable battery production.