Imperial researcher awarded prestigious fellowship to advance battery recycling technology

Dr Xiaochu Wei, a Research Associate in the Department of Chemical Engineering and part of the ChemEng Enterprise family, has been awarded a Faraday Institution Entrepreneurial Fellowship to advance battery recycling technology.

Xiaochu leads E-Rebat, a planned Imperial spinout developing an electro-recycling system to recover critical materials from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. The fellowship will support the all-female team in scaling its technology, expanding validation with industrial waste and preparing for commercialisation.

The award was announced on 4 September 2026 as one of only three new Entrepreneurial Fellowships from the Faraday Institution. The programme supports researchers across the UK looking to create businesses and commercialise battery technologies, providing mentoring, strategic business advice and introductions to industry contacts.

Recovering critical materials from used batteries

E-Rebat’s patent-pending technology recovers materials including lithium, nickel, manganese, copper and cobalt from lithium-ion batteries at the end of their useful life.

Operating in a water-based environment near ambient temperature, the process uses controlled electrochemical reactions to deposit metals sequentially as high-purity metal products or alloys, in a high yield process.

This stepwise approach avoids the need for costly pre-sorting and is compatible with mixed feedstocks. The platform is also adaptable to future battery chemistries, including sodium-ion batteries.

Preliminary economic assessments at laboratory scale indicate high-value yields and significant reductions in operating costs relative to existing hydrometallurgical approaches.

From laboratory research to commercial development

The fellowship will help E-Rebat scale its technology to a pre-commercial level, expand validation with industrial waste and support the formation of the planned spinout.

Anna Hankin, Xiaochu's supervisor, added: "We are delighted to have been given this opportunity to demonstrate that electrochemical recovery of materials from spent batteries can be both efficient and economically viable, and can make an important contribution to a more circular battery industry."

The team will also conduct techno-economic and life-cycle analyses to assess the process’s economic viability and environmental impact, alongside engaging with stakeholders to advance commercialisation. 

This fellowship is an exciting milestone in my journey from researcher to entrepreneur. Dr Xiaochu Wei Research Associate

Xiaochu added : "This fellowship is an exciting milestone in my journey from researcher to entrepreneur. Support from the Faraday Institution will provide invaluable opportunities to strengthen E-Rebat’s business plan, build relationships with customers and investors, and help bring our sustainable critical-mineral recovery technology closer to industrial deployment."

By producing battery-grade outputs from recovered materials, E-Rebat has the long-term potential to support a more resilient UK critical minerals and battery supply chain.

ChemEng Enterprise - Supporting the next generation of chemical engineering ventures

E-Rebat is part of the ChemEng Enterprise incubator, which supports researchers in exploring commercial opportunities arising from their work. Xiaochu’s fellowship marks a new milestone for this community as her team takes its battery recycling technology towards commercialisation.

This is yet another excellent achievement for a team and technology that ChemEng Enterprise has supported. Sandro Macchietto Director of ChemEng Enterprise

Sandro added: "This is yet another excellent achievement for a team and technology that ChemEng Enterprise has supported from the very early stages through its equity-free Pre-Seed Fund, targeted business mentoring and various funding applications. It is gratifying to see Xiaochu win another highly competitive Fellowship, in addition to the recent recognition as Runner-up at the RSC Emerging Technologies Competition."

The Department has a strong record of creating new ventures. In 2024–25, it launched five spinouts, accounting for a third of Imperial’s total that year.

Through ChemEng Enterprise, researchers can access pre-seed funding, mentoring and advice, and prepare to apply for other support from Imperial and other funders. Practical workshops and the annual ChemEng Enterprise Day provide further opportunities to build entrepreneurial knowledge and venture connections.

Find out more about ChemEng Enterprise.