Crystallization Process to Yield Battery Grade Lithium

Reaction Automation Techniques from the Pharmaceutical Industry Enable Manufacturing of High Purity Battery Material

Program oversigt

  • Online monitoring of crystallization enables higher quality outcomes in fewer experiments
  • Recrystallization process for converting crude lithium carbonate to battery-grade material

Pharmaceutical and battery material supply chains share three challenges: materials must be supplied in high quantity (>kiloton-scale), with high batch-to-batch consistency, and in high (>99%) purity. Pharmaceutical companies address these challenges using in-situ reaction monitoring, continuous crystallization, and automated high-throughput experimentation. Incorporating automation and reaction monitoring at the lab scale shortens the timeline to scale up and reduces uncertainty when the plant is commissioned.

Despite the advantages, the mining industry rarely uses lab-scale process automation. Plant designers rely on simple thermodynamic models and few manually executed tests to design large-scale plants. Telescope Innovations aims to bridge the gap between these industries by developing lab-scale automation technologies for the mining industry. Their focus is on processes to yield high-quality battery raw materials (i.e., lithium, nickel-cobalt, and manganese salts) from low-quality feed streams and recycled material. Automation and analytical technologies are poised to dramatically facilitate access to battery materials at huge scales, paving the way for a sustainable energy future.


About the Presenter

ryan jansonius

Ryan Jansonius, PhD

VP of Chemcial Contract Services - Telescope Innovations

Dr. Ryan Jansonius is the Vice President of Chemistry Contract Services at Telescope Innovations. With a PhD in Chemistry, he leads a technical team utilizing laboratory automation tools to accelerate research and development timelines. Over the past decade, Ryan has built a successful career in technology commercialization, focusing on bringing innovative chemical solutions to market.