The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announced the awards of the Critical Minerals Grant, made available by Governor Gretchen Whitmer鈥檚 Fiscal Year 2024 budget. The grants aim to advance the research, development, or demonstration of projects to create innovative and practical approaches to increase the reuse and recycling of batteries and other critical minerals through investments in Michigan鈥檚 universities and colleges. The awards will spur innovation and strengthen Michigan鈥檚 critical mineral supply chain while protecting our natural resources and reliance on the extraction of new materials.
鈥淏uilding a sustainable economy requires ingenuity and innovation from our scientists, entrepreneurs, and businesses,鈥� said Phil Roos, EGLE director. 鈥淓GLE鈥檚 Critical Minerals Grants will support research and demonstration projects at our universities aimed at strengthening Michigan鈥檚 supply chain for the critical minerals needed for clean energy production while protecting our world-class land, air, and water resources. This is an important step in driving a more circular, sustainable economy.鈥�
The Critical Minerals Grants were awarded to Michigan State University (MSU), the University of Michigan, and Lawrence Technological University鈥檚 Centrepolis Accelerator:
- Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technological University was awarded $2,282,667.67 to increase the purity of recyclable outputs and the efficiency and safety of processing batteries for critical mineral recovery by leveraging artificial intelligence technology to support the development and demonstration of automation used in disassembly, sorting, and processing of the end-of-life batteries from consumers, electric vehicles, and other products.
- University of Michigan was awarded $1,485,037 to develop and demonstrate a 500 kilowatt-level, grid-tied energy storage system using second-life batteries from electric vehicles. The project will result in a full-power onsite demonstration at the Flint/Saginaw Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee in Flint, Michigan.
- Michigan State University was awarded $706,014.63 to demonstrate an economic, scalable, and environmentally friendly route for recycling spent lithium-ion phosphate battery cathode materials with enhanced efficiency and effectiveness and evaluate the potential for manufacturing and engineering ceramic parts in Michigan.
鈥淲e are grateful to EGLE for this important award to help develop state-of-the-art automated battery disassembly and sorting systems,鈥� said Centrepolis Accelerator CEO Dan Radomski. 鈥淭his project is in partnership with Michigan-based recycling firms including Padnos, Great Lakes Recycling, and Michigan Goodwill Industries to utilize existing battery waste streams. It ensures they can benefit from the automation systems we develop from this project, including reducing battery scrap in Michigan landfills and providing a higher-margin recycling system for use in their operations.鈥�
鈥淲e are excited to have the industrial support of Cirba Solutions to advance the crucial work of recycling spent LiFePO4 cathode materials from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and contribute to the circular economy in Michigan,鈥� said MSU Professors Ruigang Wang and Annick Anctil.