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through energy-intensive processes and sent to landfill. In contrast, our process bypasses these steps by directly utilizing a precursor material that we put into the plasma as a liquid-water mixture. We then remove the water within two seconds before controlling the plasma’ s temperature, as it is a highly reactive environment where ions form crystals of nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium in less than a second. Following this rapid crystallization, we make minor adjustments to form the structure and proceed with deagglomeration through milling. Consequently, a process that typically takes three-to-four days, is condensed into only a few hours without creating any waste. Despite generating nitrous oxide gas as a byproduct, we capture the NOx in its entirety and scrub it. Interestingly enough, the gas output mirrors the input concentration, resembling the process of nitric acid creation. By integrating
this gas back into a nitrogen generation system to produce nitric acid, our approach remains fully circular and waste-free,” Sam elaborates.
Thanks to this eco-friendlier process that consumes less energy and water while generating no waste, NMC manufacturing locally in the US is cheaper than it would be overseas in countries like China or Korea. According to Sam, this approach and its benefits also extend to 6K Energy’ s lithium iron phosphate battery( LFP) manufacturing.“ While we can produce LFP using this plasma method, we need to slightly refine the process to ensure proper carbon coating on the structure for conductivity. Nonetheless, we can also manufacture it following the traditional method due to our expertise in North America. My team members and I have been making LFP for decades, starting our work at MIT in 2001, well before this chemistry
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