RECYCLEAN Canada Explores Recycling Methods for Clean Energy Technologies
The University of Toronto has received $2,000,000 from the provincial government under the Ontario Research Fund (ORF) to support a Climate Positive Energy-led project, RECYCLEAN Canada, the Electrochemical Technology Recycling Network. RECYCLEAN Canada is focused on developing recycling innovations of critical metals and other valuable materials from sustainable energy conversion technologies. The RECYCLEAN Canada team is one of twelve U of T Engineering research teams to receive investment under the ORF program.
Uniting expertise across institutions, the RECYCLEAN Canada research team is co-led by U of T Professor Aimy Bazylak and Professor ChungHyuk Lee from Toronto Metropolitan University, and includes CPE Academic Director David Sinton. Among the team are CPE members Dwight Seferos, Vladimiros Papangelakis, and Daniel Posen, as well as Drew Higgins from McMaster University. RECYCLEAN Canada investigators Bazylak, Higgins, and Lee are world leaders in performing X-ray analyses of materials for fuel cell and electrolysis applications. The project team will also be engaging U of T’s Acceleration Consortium, the largest platform in Canada that combines machine learning and self-driving laboratories to accelerate discovery of new materials and processes, during its experiments.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions plays a critical role in a clean energy future and Canada’s path to net-zero. The RECYLEAN Canada research team is exploring how to extract the critical metals and other valuable materials used within fuel cells and electrolyzers. Water electrolyzers generate green hydrogen, which can then be used with fuel cells to produce on-demand electricity with zero-local emissions. Electrolyzers can also be used for CO2 capture and conversion to produce useful products, helping to reduce society’s carbon footprint.
Electrolyzer and fuel cell technologies have advanced significantly in recent years, becoming commercially available with potential for widespread adoption if costs can be reduced. Water electrolyzers are central to green hydrogen production when powered by renewable energy, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in industries like transportation and energy storage. However, recycling solutions for these technologies are lacking, and critical metal shortages pose a major challenge. RECYCLEAN Canada is leading efforts to develop recycling innovations to address this gap and improve the circularity of these technologies to make them more sustainable.
RECYCLEAN Canada is focused on developing innovations in recycling technologies and processes across the entire membrane electrode assembly (MEA) recycling value chain. The researchers will first develop methods to separate catalyst particles, with the goal of converting degraded and used chemicals into viable precursors for recreating catalysts and electrolytes.
RECYCLEAN Canada is directly supported by 26 Canadian and global industry leaders, who have invested matching contributions.
“RECYCLEAN Canada is the first national effort to integrate recycling innovation across the entire value chain of electrochemical energy systems,” says Aimy Bazylak, Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at U of T, and RECYCLEAN Project Lead. “By revolutionizing how clean electrochemical technologies are developed, we will position Canada as a global leader in sustainable electrochemical systems and products, filling a critical gap in recycling innovation and shaping a more sustainable future.”
“RECYCLEAN Canada led by the University of Toronto is a critical investment in the province’s competitiveness now and in the future,” said Leah Cowen, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives, University of Toronto. “This investment in RECYCLEAN Canada will support innovation in the energy sector and help to attract and retain the world’s top talent.”
“The transition to a clean hydrogen economy over the coming decades will deliver profound economic, environmental, and social impacts for Ontario and Canada,” said David Sinton, Academic Director of Climate Positive Energy. “RECYCLEAN Canada is uniting Canadian and international academic expertise to tackle an important challenge towards our path to a clean energy future.”