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Nikolaus Correll

Computer science professor Nikolaus Correll and his lab at CU Boulder have been awarded $1.8 million by the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to help establish a circular supply chain for domestic electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

The percentage of EV passenger vehicles on the road is  to 28% by 2030 and 58% by 2040, globally.

The existing supply chain for EV batteries relies mostly on recycling to recover critical minerals such as cobalt, nickel or copper.

However, conventional battery recycling methods are energy-intensive, produce significant quantities of greenhouse gases, and lead to large volumes of waste deposited in landfills.

CU Boulder joins 12 other projects around the country working to change this dynamic through ARPA-E's  program.

Correll's project focuses on autonomous robotic disassembly of EV lithium-ion battery packs. Humanoid robots will work together with robotic arms to manipulate wire harnesses and remove screws and other components before dismantling commercial battery packs with a heavy-duty industrial arm.

Correll explained that people are interested in using robots for the task due to the hazardous nature of the work.

"The batteries are quite dangerous to handle due to the risk of electrocution and spontaneous ignition," Correll said.

The Correll Lab's project will use state-of-the-art perception models and large-language models to consider the physics and context of each battery.

By advancing the efficiency and ability of battery disassembly systems, component recycling could be done at a commercial scale more safely and cost-effectively, leading to less waste in landfills and more material available for new EV batteries.

The director of ARPA-E, Evelyn N. Wang, said, "I look forward to seeing how these CIRCULAR projects develop regeneration, repair, reuse, and remanufacture technologies to create a sustainable EV battery supply chain."