Coventry University collaborates with Indonesian university to reduce electric vehicle battery waste

Thursday 24 October 2024

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Coventry University has joined forces with Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Indonesia to explore the creation of a joint laboratory dedicated to reducing electric vehicle (EV) battery waste.

As EV adoption accelerates worldwide, the need for efficient, eco-friendly battery recycling and disposal is becoming increasingly important. The International Energy Agency states that the number of electric vehicles could reach 30 million per year by 2030, resulting in approximately 11 million tonnes of battery waste globally if efficient recycling methods are not implemented.

Leveraging their expertise in battery waste processing, Coventry University’s Research Centre for e-Mobility and Clean Growth will collaborate with UGM’s Faculty of Engineering to enhance research on recovering valuable materials from used electric vehicle batteries.

This global collaboration, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aims to reduce waste, promote resource reuse and contribute to sustainable manufacturing practices.

The research teams from both institutions will focus on developing advanced methods for battery diagnostics and prognostics to predict lifespan and performance degradation. They will also work on creating efficient processes for battery materials recovery, extracting valuable materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel from used batteries.

Additionally, the teams will look for ways to reuse recovered materials in new battery production, helping to reduce environmental impacts while ensuring these materials are safe to use. Their research will focus on sustainable methods for extracting materials in an eco-friendly way and optimising the supply chain to improve the lifecycle of electric vehicle batteries.

We are excited by this collaboration, as it represents a huge step forward in advancing innovative research in clean technologies. By working with UGM, we aim to advance research into battery recycling and sustainable e-mobility, addressing a critical issue in the global clean growth agenda.

Professor Rohit Bhagat, Director of the Research Centre for e-Mobility and Clean Growth, Coventry University

We are proud to be working with the Faculty of Engineering at Universitas Gadjah Mada. This collaboration marks another milestone in our commitment to driving global research impact and fostering innovation across borders.

Professor Richard Dashwood, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Coventry University

The collaboration will create joint PhD opportunities, collaborative research projects and shared funding applications in the clean growth sector. Both institutions will facilitate knowledge exchange through lecturer and student exchange programmes, joint seminars and academic publications.

Through this initiative, Coventry University is expanding its global outreach and enhancing international collaborations in sustainable technologies, building on its existing network of Global Hubs in India, China, Africa, Brussels and Singapore and collaborations with universities worldwide.

Find out more about the Research Centre for e-Mobility and Clean Growth.