Future Outlook: The push for renewable energy has made lithium one of the most in-demand materials in the modern supply chain, so it's only natural that people are looking for ways to recycle it. One person has found a new use for the tiny lithium-ion batteries that e-cigarette users throw away every day, and he eventually plans to share his knowledge.
A British father and son have managed to use hundreds of old e-cigarette batteries to charge smartphones and make batteries for electric bikes, a complicated and laborious process that could soon be simplified by a guide.
The project began after software engineer Mark Hopgood's original e-bike broke and a repair shop told him it would be cheaper to buy a new one for around £1,200 ($1,533). Instead, he found a different solution.
Hopgood bought a regular bike, fitted it with electric wheels and began testing about 200 discarded e-cigarette batteries that his son Ned had collected last year. The lithium-ion batteries that power the e-cigarette pens are based on the same basic technology as e-bike and electric car batteries, which Hopgood will eventually be able to adapt. The batteries have previously successfully charged Mark's phone and music devices, but using them in an electric car will be a new, riskier endeavor.
Mark thoroughly checked 70 batteries to ensure they were compatible and safe, as compatibility issues can make lithium-ion batteries extremely dangerous: E-bike chargers have caused hundreds of fires in the past few years, many of which resulted in fatalities.
After matching the specifications, Mark arranged the batteries in strips, creating a homemade energy source capable of propelling the e-bike up to 15mph, the maximum legal speed for e-bikes in the UK. The engineers believe that evenly distributing power between the strips prevents the cells from overheating.
A “phase two” design with a proper battery case is currently in development, and Mark hopes to eventually make the blueprints public so others can recycle their vape pen and other lithium-ion batteries.
The technology is the basis of modern electronics and electric transportation, but lithium has been controversial due to the difficulty of sourcing the necessary components and manufacturing the batteries. Chinese EV makers have demonstrated that sodium ion (salt) is a promising successor, but other bases such as water, sand, zinc bromine and liquid metals may also prove usable.
Image courtesy of: The Independent