Left to right: Chunhong Lei (Leicester University), Georgia Mann (Withers and Rogers – the award sponsor), Jake Yang (Leicester University) and Martin Freer (CEO, Faraday Institution)

University of Leicester has been nationally recognised for pioneering a sustainable alternative to conventional battery waste recycling. The group, based in the University’s School of Chemistry and Centre for Sustainable Processing, received the Innovation Award – Highly Commended at the Faraday Institution Community Awards 2025.

Dr Jake Yang, School of Chemistry, University of Leicester, said: “Recycling lithium-ion batteries doesn’t get any simpler, or greener, than using just oil and water.”

Currently, the UK exports lithium-ion battery (LIB) waste, known as black mass, to Europe and Asia for reprocessing, due to the hazards and regulatory complexity of domestic treatment. Existing reprocessing methods of black mass, which we have inherited from the mining industry, are capital-intensive and require lengthy permitting processes, creating significant barriers for innovation and market entry.

Led by Dr Jake Yang, the Leicester team has developed a novel, low-cost, and environmentally friendly method for directly recycling LIB black mass using just oil and water. This patent-pending technology enables battery waste to be reprocessed within the UK, helping retain critical minerals and strengthen domestic circularity. The work, reported earlier this year, has since been featured by over 45 independent news outlets, underscoring its broad impact and public interest.

The award was presented by Professor Martin Freer, CEO of The Faraday Institution, at the 2025 Faraday Institution Conference on 10 September. Sponsored by Withers & Rogers, the award celebrates innovation that advances the UK’s battery research and sustainability goals.

Professor Freer said: “The Leicester team has developed a promising methodology for short-loop, low-cost recycling of lithium-ion battery black mass. Their elegant, patent-pending technology offers a compelling alternative to existing routes and has already attracted early industry interest.”

At the conference, the team delivered an invited talk and showcased a demonstration video featuring the near-instantaneous recycling of a design-to-recycle LIB pouch cell. By simply replacing PVDF with water-soluble binders and applying their oil-water nanoemulsion technique, the team achieved full black mass separation in under five minutes - an approach designed with recyclability in mind.

Professor Paul Monks, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, has commented: “It is exciting to see the innovation in this battery material recycling method by the University of Leicester team. Cost-effective and sustainable separation of carbon from inorganic cathode material is a great step in the route to clean power and net zero.”

With billions of lithium-ion batteries powering electronics and electric vehicles worldwide, Leicester’s innovation could unlock a cheaper, greener recycling pathway - supporting the UK’s acceleration towards achieving net zero and securing critical mineral supply chains for the future. The team has secured funding to take this innovation to the pilot scale. 

• Award receiving team: Dr Jake Yang, Dr Chunhong Li, Prof. Andy Abbott and Prof. Karl Ryder.