NSF awards Phase II SBIR to Nth Cycle
“Innovation Crossroads” alum Nth Cycle LLC has been awarded a nearly $1 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation.
With a start date of February 1, the $976,200 award is for a project titled “Electrochemical Separation Device for Co-Ni Recovery from Li-ion Batteries.” According to the program abstract, the project “proposes to: (1) validate novel electro-extraction nanotechnology based separations technology in the battery recycling and cobalt mining space; and (2) validate a new, value-added product (a battery cathode precursor material) for this rapidly growing market, rendering the conventional refining stages unnecessary. The proposed electroextraction process utilizes flow-through water electrolysis to produce high local concentrations of hydroxide to precipitate transition metals as metal hydroxides. This understanding will allow tuning the device operating conditions for metal or mixed-metal specific precipitation, for example, the precipitation of Ni-Mn-Co hydroxides at battery stoichiometries or highly selective precipitation of individual metals.”
Megan O’Connor, Nth Cycle Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, participated in Cohort 2 of the program operated by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Selection of participants for Cohort 6 is nearing completion.
