{
  "node": {
    "id": "term:relithiation",
    "type": "Term",
    "label": "Relithiation",
    "properties": {
      "id": "relithiation",
      "name": "Relithiation",
      "aka": [
        "cathode regeneration",
        "hydrothermal relithiation"
      ],
      "section": "topic-recycling",
      "definition": "Restoring the lithium a used cathode material has lost, by heating it with a lithium salt in the solid state or in a hot lithium solution, and re-annealing the crystal. It is the core step of direct recycling and works best on a single, known chemistry.",
      "related": [
        "direct-recycling",
        "loss-of-lithium-inventory",
        "cathode-active-material"
      ],
      "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/relithiation/",
      "mentions": [
        "cathode",
        "lithium-salt"
      ]
    }
  },
  "edges": [
    {
      "id": "edge:4405",
      "source": "term:relithiation",
      "target": "topic:topic-recycling",
      "type": "belongsTo",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "terms.json"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "edge:4406",
      "source": "term:relithiation",
      "target": "term:direct-recycling",
      "type": "relatedTo",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "terms.json",
        "meaning": "Related context; not a causal claim"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "edge:4407",
      "source": "term:relithiation",
      "target": "term:loss-of-lithium-inventory",
      "type": "relatedTo",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "terms.json",
        "meaning": "Related context; not a causal claim"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "edge:4408",
      "source": "term:relithiation",
      "target": "term:cathode-active-material",
      "type": "relatedTo",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "terms.json",
        "meaning": "Related context; not a causal claim"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "edge:mentions/relithiation/cathode",
      "source": "term:relithiation",
      "target": "term:cathode",
      "type": "mentions",
      "properties": {
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    {
      "id": "edge:mentions/relithiation/lithium-salt",
      "source": "term:relithiation",
      "target": "term:lithium-salt",
      "type": "mentions",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "terms.json",
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        "meaning": "Text mention; not a causal claim"
      }
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      "id": "edge:4411",
      "source": "term:relithiation",
      "target": "reference:harper-recycling",
      "type": "cites",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "wiki-references.json",
        "scope": "direct technical reference"
      }
    }
  ],
  "neighbors": [
    {
      "id": "topic:topic-recycling",
      "type": "Topic",
      "label": "Recycling and end of life",
      "properties": {
        "id": "topic-recycling",
        "name": "Recycling and end of life",
        "lede": "What happens to a battery after its first life: reuse, and the recycling routes that recover its materials, step by step.",
        "context": "Distinguish recovered material from a qualified product.",
        "example": "High mass recovery alone does not establish battery-grade purity or refining energy demand.",
        "lesson_url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/fundamentals/cell-production/",
        "lesson_label": "Open process context"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:direct-recycling",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Direct recycling",
      "properties": {
        "id": "direct-recycling",
        "name": "Direct recycling",
        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "Recovering cathode material with its crystal structure intact and relithiating it for reuse, instead of breaking it down to metal salts. It promises lower energy and cost but must handle a mix of chemistries and ages.",
        "related": [
          "recycling",
          "hydrometallurgy",
          "cathode-active-material",
          "relithiation",
          "upcycling"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/direct-recycling/",
        "mentions": [
          "cathode"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:loss-of-lithium-inventory",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Loss of lithium inventory",
      "properties": {
        "id": "loss-of-lithium-inventory",
        "name": "Loss of lithium inventory",
        "abbr": "LLI",
        "section": "topic-aging",
        "definition": "The degradation mode in which cyclable lithium is consumed by side reactions — SEI growth, plating, electrolyte decomposition — and can no longer shuttle between the electrodes. It is the dominant cause of capacity fade in most lithium-ion cells.",
        "related": [
          "sei",
          "lithium-plating",
          "capacity-fade",
          "loss-of-active-material",
          "coulombic-efficiency"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/loss-of-lithium-inventory/",
        "mentions": [
          "electrolyte",
          "aging-mechanism",
          "electrolyte-decomposition"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:cathode-active-material",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Cathode active material",
      "properties": {
        "id": "cathode-active-material",
        "name": "Cathode active material",
        "abbr": "CAM",
        "section": "topic-components",
        "definition": "The lithium-containing compound in the positive electrode — NMC, NCA, LFP or LCO powder — that supplies the cell’s cyclable lithium. It is the most expensive material in most cells and sets the nominal voltage and much of the energy density.",
        "related": [
          "active-material",
          "nmc",
          "lfp",
          "precursor",
          "specific-capacity"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/cathode-active-material/",
        "mentions": [
          "electrode",
          "positive-electrode",
          "nominal-voltage",
          "energy-density"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:cathode",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Cathode",
      "properties": {
        "id": "cathode",
        "name": "Cathode",
        "section": "topic-components",
        "definition": "The electrode where reduction happens: the positive electrode on discharge, the negative one on charge. In industry usage, “cathode” means the positive electrode and its material, whatever the cell is doing.",
        "related": [
          "positive-electrode",
          "anode",
          "reduction",
          "cathode-active-material"
        ],
        "lesson": "fundamentals/cell-anatomy/#anode-cathode",
        "example": {
          "title": "Check the reaction",
          "text": "During discharge, the positive electrode is the cathode because reduction occurs there. Charging moves reduction to the negative electrode."
        },
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/cathode/",
        "mentions": [
          "electrode"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:lithium-salt",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Lithium salt",
      "properties": {
        "id": "lithium-salt",
        "name": "Lithium salt",
        "aka": [
          "LiPF₆",
          "LiFSI"
        ],
        "section": "topic-electrolytes",
        "definition": "The dissolved salt that supplies the mobile lithium ions in a liquid electrolyte, almost always lithium hexafluorophosphate, LiPF₆, at about one mole per litre. It reacts with traces of water to form hydrofluoric acid, which is why cells are filled in a dry room.",
        "related": [
          "electrolyte",
          "carbonate-solvent",
          "dry-room",
          "hydrofluoric-acid"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/lithium-salt/",
        "mentions": [
          "lipf6"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "reference:harper-recycling",
      "type": "Reference",
      "label": "Recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles",
      "properties": {
        "title": "Recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles",
        "publisher": "Nature",
        "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1682-5",
        "type": "Review article",
        "scope": "Reuse, disassembly and mechanical, hydro-, pyro- and direct recycling routes.",
        "year": 2019,
        "authors": [
          "Gavin Harper et al."
        ],
        "accessed": "2026-10-27"
      }
    }
  ]
}