Chemical Safety at Work - The Podcast

16. Battery Recycling Unpacked: Hazards and Future Innovations with Katharine Hole

• Storemasta • Season 2 • Episode 1

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🪫Can we truly achieve a sustainable future without addressing the hazards of battery disposal?

Join us for an enlightening discussion with Katharine Hole, CEO of the Association for the Battery Recycling Industry, as she unpacks the complex landscape of battery recycling.

From the surging relevance of lithium batteries to the enduring significance of lead-acid variants, Katharine guides us through the intricate world of battery management and recycling.

Her expertise provides a roadmap for navigating the regulatory frameworks and safety protocols that are essential in today’s battery-dependent society.

Our conversation sheds light on the diverse applications of batteries, from powering small gadgets to supporting massive industrial storage systems.

Katharine underscores the urgency of responsible disposal practices, revealing the environmental and safety hazards lurking behind improper battery management.

As organizations strive for cost-effective and efficient recycling solutions, Katharine discusses the pivotal role of original equipment manufacturers and energy storage installers in developing streamlined processes. 

Delve into the technological advancements that promise to reclaim valuable minerals like lithium, cobalt, and copper, and explore the collaborative efforts with government bodies to craft forward-thinking policies.

Pat Gee:

Welcome back to Chemical Safety at Work. We're thrilled to kick off Season 2 with a fantastic guest, Katharine CEO, of the Association for the Battery Recycling Industry. Katharine brings valuable insights into battery recycling, a critical topic as businesses face new challenges with battery disposal and safety. Today we'll explore battery hazards, recycling infrastructure and the technologies shaping the industry. 2025 is a big year for Chemical Safety at Work. We have exciting plans, including more special guests, deep dives into key topics and tackling the big challenges in dangerous goods storage. We're committed to delivering practical advice and expert insights to make your workplace safer and more compliant. In next fortnight's episode, we sit down with Hydro Tasmania WHS partner Adam Rosevear to get his insights into risk management and safety culture in the energy sector. Let's dive into our conversation with Katharine Hole and make 2025 the safest, most informed year to date.

Pat Gee:

Yes, so can you just tell us about your current position and a bit about your background and experience?

Katharine Hole :

So, I'm the Chief Executive Officer for the Association for the Battery Recycling Industry, which is an industry association specialising in sort of the battery circular economy and particularly end-of-life management and battery reuse and remanufacturing. I came to this role. I'd had 15 years experience across government in a number of roles, including energy, water and planning and environment, and this role looked really interesting for me. I could still apply my government skills and help them with advocacy and discussions and work with government, which is really important for a heavily regulated industry like battery recycling, and I had a little bit of battery knowledge, but certainly not the technical detail that my members do. But that became a really good fit and so I've been here now for four years and really loving it. Really interesting space. And so I've been here now for four years and really loving it. Really interesting space.

Pat Gee:

So, when was ABRI established and kind of, what's the purpose of the organisation?

Katharine Hole :

ABRI was established actually almost 20 years ago in 2008. It's been around for quite some time. Its initial focus was really on battery stewardship and getting support for end-of-life battery management, which they very successfully achieved with the establishment of the B-Cycle scheme, which has spun off into a separate entity and is still working very hard to promote end-of-life battery management there, and ABRI itself now has a much stronger focus on regulatory engagement with government to support safe and sustainable battery transport and management and recycling at end of life.

Pat Gee:

How has the battery mix changed since ABRI began to now? You've seen a bit of a shift over those years. The organisation.

Katharine Hole :

So, there's been a really big shift and lead-acid batteries have always been around and been around for a long time. So you know, your car starter batteries. But they also go up to one tonne or more industrial type energy storage batteries and even the practices around management of lead-acid batteries have really changed over that time period. And the big growth sector is lithium batteries, particularly in the energy storage and electric vehicle and mobility space.

Mel Hampton:

So, you mentioned lithium there. What are the main types of batteries being used by Australian businesses today?

Katharine Hole :

Oh, it's never ending, right. The range of products with lithium batteries. Nobody knows the entire list. So, it goes from really small ones in appliances or power tools or electronics or anything that uses a remote is remotely operated, through to really big energy storage batteries, which you know can be 40 tons or more when they're grid connected. So, you're talking about something that might be a kilo or two, up to 40 tonnes, so it can really vary. And when you think about industrial uses too, right, so, forklifts, industrial machinery backup power systems. The range is massive.

Mel Hampton:

What are the current requirements for the disposal of battery types these days, and does it change from state to state?

Katharine Hole :

There's no mandatory requirements to recycle lithium batteries at the moment, which is unfortunate. Having said that, there's a lot of companies who have really good practices in recycling those batteries at end of life and you see some real leadership from some of the manufacturers in doing that. Unfortunately, that's not across the board, so we know some are incorrectly disposed of or poorly handled at end of life. It really comes down to what commitments the manufacturer has got to a circular economy and recovering those materials. Lithium batteries are fully recyclable so we can recover the critical minerals and other products out of the battery. The challenge is getting the batteries from the end user to the recycler safely at end of life.

Mel Hampton:

And what are the hazards that are associated with improper disposal of batteries?

Katharine Hole :

So, with all batteries right, there's always a toxic and a chemical risk to the environment. Those risks will vary, also potentially human health as well. If you think about lead acid batteries, you don't want people inhaling that lead. Then with lithium batteries there's also the extra risk of fire and many people have seen that. You know waste trucks on fire, lots of reports about waste infrastructure on fire through incorrect battery disposal. So, it's really important that that's stopped and the batteries are sent in the right direction.

Pat Gee:

Are there any certain types of organisations or businesses that you think have a particular need to improve or increase their focus in this area now the end of life of their batteries?

Katharine Hole :

I think all orga nisations. This decarbonisation, shift in energy use to using more batteries. I think it's important for all businesses, also thinking about appliances and equipment that you use now, the portable you know everything's portable, right, so it doesn't have a cord, so what's powering that A battery? So, I think for all businesses it's really important to sit there and go what products am I using that have a battery, which will be very varied? And then how do I manage those batteries? How am I collecting and managing those batteries at end of life? And that stock take should be happening anyway, right as part of a risk management procedure for the batteries.

Pat Gee:

So, can you talk us through some of the different benefits and then the hazards associated with the most common battery chemistries that industries are using?

Katharine Hole :

There's three things to consider when purchasing a battery, and I'd definitely be encouraging people to talk to their retailer or distributor. I'll talk to it generally here. You've got to look at safety, cost, efficiency and what's fit for purpose. So, each battery chemistry has different characteristics in how it will perform its response times. Length of service weight's a big factor. Lithium batteries can often be much lighter, so you really need to assess what's the best battery type for your situation.

Mel Hampton:

Are there unique disposal requirements for those different types of batteries and battery chemistries?

Katharine Hole :

Yep, Again, I'll talk to the general. I mean clearly with lead-acid batteries. You don't want to spill, you don't want the lead coming out. You need to think about what protective requirements you have to prevent that or, if it does happen, minimise the risks of contamination or it spreading too far. Lithium the clear risk is fire. So, how do you manage that?

Pat Gee:

With battery recycling. Do you generally have recycling facilities doing multiple types of batteries, or are they usually split into different types?

Katharine Hole :

Recycling will be done by chemistry and recycling is actually. There's a number of steps in the process, from collection of the batteries from the end user. Sometimes they might go to a consolidation site so you can get a large truckload to send to the recycler. It's all about minimising the transport costs. But again, you'll hear me talk about this a lot. Safety, safety, safety, also about making sure that's all happening safely.

Katharine Hole :

Lead acid batteries... I mean lead acid and lithium, in some respects the processes are a little bit similar in that the batteries will go to a recycler, they'll be crushed At the back are a little bit similar in that the batteries will go to a recycler, they'll be crushed. At the back of a lead process will come a lead paste that will then go off for further refining, made into ingots, and that's all reused, and quite often that could be put back into your car battery. You won't even know about it. Lithium batteries at the moment the technology actually breaks down the batteries. You get a thing called a black mass or a mixed metal dust out the back and that's like a cocktail of elements, if you like, and then that'll be further separated into individual raw materials, again reusable for new batteries or other products. There's a lot of work happening in the lithium space to improve the sustainability of that process. So ideally they'd really like to go to just recovering the cathode straight out of the battery and putting that straight back into a new battery, and that's what's happening.

Katharine Hole :

The other challenge with lithium batteries is the size. So, if you're talking a ..... 40-tonne you know there's a whole lot of different challenges with those batteries in de-energisation, disassembly and pulling out the cells so they can be safely recycled. So again, depending on the size of the battery, there might be a few extra steps in that process. The really small ones that you see, you know, in your mobile phone or the little button batteries, they'll just go straight through to crushing, even if they've got plastics and other things on the outside. They'll just go straight through to crushing, even if they've got plastics and other things on the outside.

Pat Gee:

So, what are some of the biggest constraints to seeing this process happen from both sides of getting organisations to bring their batteries to be recycled, and then also from the perspective of facilities being set up to do it?

Katharine Hole :

So, lead acid's a really well-established industry here. There's value in those batteries, so, people will get paid generally for taking them back and then they'll enter the recycling chain. Lithium's a different proposition and the biggest challenge at the moment's the logistics part. There's been an excellent job done by recyclers, if you think about all those collection networks and supermarkets, funding and setting them up, and they'll then get a rebate through the B-cycle scheme. But the larger format batteries there's still a lot of work to go.

Mel Hampton:

It's still pretty new right?

Katharine Hole :

There's not a lot coming through at volume, so, there's still a lot of work to go in how we're going to scale up that industry. What investments needed to scale up? What does the infrastructure map look like? So, both the collection, consolidation and recycling locations. So, you minimise the costs, minimise the transport costs, but always, as I say, safety is always critical in all of this. So how do you do that in a safe environment? And you don't want those batteries sitting around for any length of time, right? You want them moving through the system quickly.

Pat Gee:

Yep, absolutely, and so it requires a bit of government support, a bit more focus from the government. Do you think at the moment, a bit more financial?

Katharine Hole :

I think there's a whole range of tools that need to happen. One's clearly funding, because the volumes are not coming through, feedstock volumes are not coming through at scale, and that's just getting through to the crushing stage right. There's a whole other question about recovery of the minerals, the critical minerals, from the black mass. There's also and this is a global challenge what is best practice, safe storage and handling for these batteries at different volumes, different sizes? What does a good consolidation site look like? What does that infrastructure mapping network look like, as I said, that minimises, delivers safety and sustainability and is cost effective?

Mel Hampton:

So, looking forward to the future, what do you say will evolve with new technology? Or what sort of batteries do you think will become most prevalent?

Katharine Hole :

Oh, I think, if I had that answer to that, a crystal ball, that would be great. I mean, lithium is going to be with us for a while, right. I guess some of the interesting developments that are happening there's a lot of work happening and whether you're improving lithium battery safety and looking at different chemical compositions in that space, you see other batteries emerging, particularly in the Australian context vanadium's you know, an interesting one where, again, you know that there's some... some of that's about fire risk but some of that's about local know-how and expertise and we have the resources. But again, every battery type kind of has different strengths and weaknesses, so I think there will always continue to be a mix. We expect lead acid batteries to be around for a long time, right, they're a proven performer, they do a good job. You know they don't have the same capacity necessarily as a lithium battery, but again, what's fit for purpose for what you need?

Mel Hampton:

And what are the most pressing challenges do you think that organisations face when disposing of their batteries at end of life?

Katharine Hole :

Convenience and cost. So, trying to find where you can take it, and well, there are recyclers right who will take it. But it's all that thing around drop-off consolidation, making it simple for people. Education is going to be a big factor in this. Where do you take it? How do you take it safely? How do you handle it? If you've got to store it on site for a small amount of time, what do you do? A nd those networks are going to take time to get established right. So, what's happening today - It could be quite a different framework in, you know, one to three years time and inconvenience and cost.

Pat Gee:

Those are things that lead to organizations cutting corners and that might see batteries piled up behind a shed somewhere. And that sort of thing, unfortunately, right?

Katharine Hole :

And that's a huge risk right. A huge risk to anyone who's doing that.

Katharine Hole :

Patrick Gee industry

Katharine Hole :

How does the industry approach education to consumers about proper battery disposal to reduce that contamination and the hazards in waste facilities?

Katharine Hole :

Katharine Hole industry

Katharine Hole :

T he industry of quite far down the value value chain So we So, quite closely with with parties who are likely to be holding those batteries at end of life. So if So, if you think of, they'll be with the automotive, with sector service centers or centres. So it's So, case of us working with those entities. And and OEMs have a, are know, a lot of work in this space as well, right, because they're part of that network. Energy storage installers, like household energy storage installers, are going to be key players in that chain. So what So, you need to do to help them understand that framework and which entities are going to be most effective in delivering that? So the So, themselves are very much B2B type businesses because they'll deal on volume. So it's So, with those consolidation points or experts right through the chain.

Mel Hampton:

How do you see technology shaping the future of battery recycling, particularly in terms of safely reclaiming critical minerals like lithium, cobalt and copper?

Katharine Hole :

So, there's a couple of things happening in the lithium space. There's work and research happening on how to use less energy in that process. So, there's two processes by which you can recover the criti c al mine rals. Pyrometallurgy, which is kind of heating it up really hot to separate or burn off elements. This is the non-technical explanation by the way. That's obviously very energy intensive. So, it's a big focus on how to reduce the energy use in that.

Katharine Hole :

There's hydrometallurgy, which is a chemical process. So, how do you leach out the elements. Again, how do you use what you might call greener or less environmentally damaging chemicals? And then there's the direct recycling process, which tries to skip those steps altogether and just take the cathodes out and reuse them. So, there's a lot of research. We've just published on our website. We've got a working table of research happening across Australian universities at the moment. Australia has a natural advantage in all of this because a lot of it draws on mining sector technology. Not exactly the same, obviously, you've got to be adapted, but there's a strong knowledge base here that's really helping industry grow and there's that... I'm aware of at least three companies who've developed technology here to recover those critical minerals and they're exporting or testing that technology overseas.

Pat Gee:

And do you have any advice for businesses to safely store and dispose of large-scale batteries, while adhering to best practices?

Katharine Hole :

That's a rapidly evolving space. We always suggest, you know, talk to your dangerou s goods experts. ABRI's got a number of members in this space, has a number of specialist energy sto rage companies or when I say energy storage, not the battery energy storage: companies that can support safe storage of the batteries. Just a bit confusing there. You know, seek advice from the relevant experts and you know your risk management process will be a key step to what are the risks. Therefore, thinking about how do you identify solutions or mitigation measures to that and I strongly encourage you know, for companies with larger volumes and B2B processes, there's a list of recyclers on the ABRI website. People can always reach out to ABRI. I can put you in touch with a number of the recyclers who have the specialist resources to discuss what individual batteries or what volume or what stock of batteries do you have to help with the management there.

Mel Hampton:

So, Katharine, can you tell us, are there any ongoing or upcoming collaborations between ABRI and government bodies to create clearer, more supportive policies for the battery recycling industry?

Katharine Hole :

Yes, there's a lot of work going on, and not just with ABRI. As I've mentioned already, there's huge challenges in the waste sector from incorrect disposal of batteries, so there's a lot of work happening in that space around producer responsibility. So, what should producers be doing right through to? There's been funding out of a number of the state governments for recycling projects across the country to help the infrastructure get up and running in that space. There's a lot of discussion around safety guidelines, safe handling and storage. So, there's a lot of work happening in different spaces. It might be targeted at a specific battery segment, like consumer or embedded, or a lot of work happening in micro mobility space at the moment that's also being driven by battery quality. You know quality risks to work happening with those larger batteries around energy storage, household energy storage, and there's a number of government inquiries that have been into the electric vehicle transition, of which recycling is part of those discussions.

Pat Gee:

Do you see regulations around disposal of batteries being implemented soon? And I guess yeah. What kind of work needs to be done in that area?

Katharine Hole :

I'm not sure when this podcast is going to go out, but everyone's clearly watching this the December 2024 Environment Ministers' Meeting, where they'll be looking at this issue in depth, driven by where the areas of greatest risk are at the moment, which is the waste sector, and how to mitigate or get rid of that risk. So, yes, it's a very live discussion across governments and not just the battery recycling industry - all industry at the moment - about how do we reduce the risks to workers in the waste sector.

Pat Gee:

So, in the ideal world, what would be mandated in terms of disposal of batteries?

Katharine Hole :

So, an ideal world for ABRI members is. You know we're strong supporters of mandatory producer responsibility, but that's not going to be one size fits all. So, where you might have a scheme for small batteries, you know your management of a grid scale battery and the stakeholders in that space might be a very different proposition to you know, a couple of kilos to several tons or tens of tons of battery, you know you're to need different processes, different ways of doing it. Clearly, battery tracking and tracing will be a really important part of all of this as well. I guess our other strong view is there's a lot happening overseas. We should leverage what's happening there. Don't try and reinvent the wheel if we don't need to.

Pat Gee:

So, who's the global leaders in this space?

Katharine Hole :

European Union's clearly a leader with its battery passport. India's also introduced a mandatory scheme for electric vehicle. There's a number of states in the United States of America who've done various different schemes. Nobody's, unfortunately, done it exactly the same, but there's some good precedents and frameworks that can easily be drawn on, and, given most of our products at the moment are coming from overseas, it would make sense to adopt processes they're already using.

Mel Hampton:

And what incentives or measures do you think would be most effective for encouraging businesses and consumers to comply with safe battery disposal practices?

Katharine Hole :

That's a very live discussion at the moment because unfortunately there's no perfect solution. So, you'll hear lots of discussions around like a container deposit style scheme. The key question around that is safety. You don't want people holding batteries in their house. So, I mean, the key things we always look at in all those options at the moment without a perfect is convenience, cost and safety. The sustainability will come out the other end right, because if you collected them they're not going to landfill, you don't have the toxic chemicals and the leaching, you don't have the fire risks. If you've got the collection network going, then the batteries will be going through to the recyclers and we know we can recycle them and hopefully that chain will be a safer way to get the batteries out of the system. And again, here I'm really talking about lithium. I mean, yes, you want to collect the zinc, carbon and alkaline batteries as well, but the k ey focus at the moment is lithium.

Pat Gee:

Do you think it's... I mean, there are probably some struggles already, but with the kind of rapidly increasing rate that you see things like electric vehicles BESS systems coming into the country, how are recycling facilities keeping up and are there issues and risks around them having to store batteries coming to them before they go to recycling as well?

Katharine Hole :

No, they'll turn the batteries over. Once the batteries get to a recycler they'll be moved through the system. I mean they're obviously not going to be in and out really quickly but they do move them through the system quickly. You know the environmental and the planning laws will also require that as well. I mean recycling is an inherently risky business just by the nature of it. So, that's not really. You know, once they get to that space they're in a pretty specialised and contained environment and you know there's a very high awareness of the risks and what needs to happen and how to mitigate and manage them. And the facilities are built right to manage large volumes of batteries. They'll have caps on how much they can ever store at any one time and they'll have. You know we did a lot of work with the Victorian EPA a few years back looking specifically at lead-acid batteries right and how fast they move through the system, because you don't want, as you mentioned, batteries being stored.

Mel Hampton:

Can you tell us a little bit about the role, I guess, of EPA or how you engage with that space?

Katharine Hole :

So, we engage with EPAs. We're a small organisation, right, Not as many states and territories as some other jurisdictions, but we're working closely at the moment with, particularly Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, as they consider what solutions are needed to address these risks in waste facilities. You know it's a very cooperative and collaborative approach. Everyone's still learning in this space, right, it's still. You know, lithium battery technology has been around for a while, but coming through at scale. The battery sizes are changing, the challenges are changing. It's you know how do we get good outcomes for everyone?

Mel Hampton:

That's great. You work together on those things.

Katharine Hole :

We might not always agree, you know. No, but it's a good relationship, it's a collaborative and it's a positive relationship.

Pat Gee:

Yeah, everyone's working towards the same goal at least.

Katharine Hole :

Yeah everyone's working towards the same goal, right?

Mel Hampton:

Is there anything else you wanted to cover, Katharine?

Katharine Hole :

I should give a plug if that's al right. We've got our conference next year, so you guys should think about coming along.

Mel Hampton:

Absolutely, and when abouts is that Katharine?

Katharine Hole :

It's the 17th of July in Sydney. It'll be more. It won't be the I'm a store, how do I manage my batteries type approach, right. It'll be just more of the high-level discussions, but definitely worth coming along.

Pat Gee:

So, it's a program of different presentations, or how does it work?

Katharine Hole :

So, this will be our third conference. So, it's just one day because we're still fairly small. We do quite a few panel sessions because it is an open discussion around pros and cons, different challenges, different solutions. Last year there was a big focus on e-waste and insurance. We had a specialist speaker out from Europe talking about building recycling plants in Europe. New South Wales EPA came along and chatted about what government was doing. Penny Sharpe's actually said she'll open our conference next year. So, that's great, great news and we're looking for another international speaker at the moment so hopefully confirm that in the new year.

Katharine Hole :

So, it's a bit of a mix of panels plus presentation. Like the other really interesting thing from last year, we had Edith Cowan University IAG talking because they're looking at how to manage batteries that have been involved in a car accident. So, they go off to the wrecker because normally, like the car companies, right, they ge t a payment. You, get paid through the scrap system for the wrecked vehicle. But it's a bit of a different proposition now. If you've got a scrapped EV, what happens? All those sorts of things. So, they're doing a great project through iMove CRC on that. Yeah, that's good.

Pat Gee:

Yeah, that's good. Yeah, , that's an interesting point. lo t lot of typical scrapyards aren't going to want to manage a lot of large damaged lithium-ion batteries.

Katharine Hole :

they might right, but everyone's trying to work out because it's new. What's the commercial model? How do you do it? What does good look like? It's new for everybody.

Pat Gee:

So, the attendees, who's it open to and who do you ex pect?

Katharine Hole :

It's open to everyone. Last year, I think we had about five, we had every government across Australia except Western Australia and Tasmania and no, don't blame people for not travelling, it's expensive, right and a number of research institutions, so CSIRO, Edith Cowan, plus industry, plus a broader segment of players that we sort of connect with in terms of they might be technical specialists or law firms or people who provide advisory or kind of like those periphery services present. So, it's quite broad, because the topic's quite broad right. By the time you have every single battery application, every single chemistry.

Pat Gee:

Yeah, yeah, well, thank you very much for joining us on the podcast today and diving into battery safety, which is always a hot topic these days when we're talking about dangerous goods, it's always, you know, the primary topics when we go to conferences or various events around the country, and something that a lot more businesses are having to try and manage and will increasingly need to. So, yeah, thanks very much for providing that insight.

Mel Hampton:

Thank you very much, Katharine.

Mel Hampton:

Katharine Hole welcome.

Mel Hampton:

You're welcome

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