As battery factories rapidly expand worldwide, the issue of wastewater disposal looms large, threatening to hinder their construction.
Aepnus Technology, a startup, proposes a groundbreaking solution: recycling the wastewater instead of disposing of it.
Turning Waste into Valuable Resources
Wastewater from battery plants is often laden with sodium sulfate, a byproduct of sulfuric acid and caustic soda, both essential chemicals in battery manufacturing.
Aepnus Technology’s co-founder and CTO, Bilen Akuzum, envisions a circular economy where these reagent chemicals are fully recycled.
Akuzum and co-founder Lukas Hackl stumbled upon this idea while exploring lithium mining operations. They realized that the industry lacked effective solutions for dealing with sodium sulfate waste, a pressing problem in battery production.
Modernizing the Chloralkali Process
Aepnus Technology is revolutionizing the century-old chloralkali process, which splits salts like sodium sulfate back into their constituent acids and bases.
They achieve this through a modernized electrolysis process that doesn’t rely on expensive catalysts.
Aepnus currently provides half-scale models of its equipment to customers for testing with their specific wastewater streams.
This approach allows for customized solutions to address the unique contaminants present in each facility’s wastewater.
Benefits for Customers and the Environment
By fully recycling sodium sulfate waste, customers can reduce disposal costs and save on the procurement of new materials.
For remote sites, this also means reduced transportation costs. Additionally, Aepnus’s technology contributes to a more sustainable battery production process by minimizing waste and promoting a circular economy.
Aepnus recently secured $8 million in seed funding to expand its pilot-scale electrolyzer production and develop a commercial-scale version.
This funding round, led by Clean Energy Ventures, highlights investor confidence in the company’s potential.
A Milestone for U.S. Electrolyzer Production
If Aepnus successfully commercializes its electrolyzers, it will mark a significant achievement for the United States, as there are currently no domestic companies with the expertise to build such equipment. This innovation could position the U.S. as a leader in sustainable battery manufacturing technologies.