Systems and methods for direct recycling and upcycling of spent cathode materials using Flame-Assisted Spray Pyrolysis Technology (FAST). In illustrative embodiments, cathode layers are separated and collected from spent battery cells. The cathode laminate is ground to a powdered form and treated to remove contaminants by sifting into a hot stream of air which heats the powders, burning off contaminants. After cooling and particle collection, the powders may be dispersed into leaching solution to dissolve metal oxides and create an acid metal solution or ground into nano-sized primary particles and mixed with dispersing liquids to form a solution. The solution may be mixed with glycerol and additional metal salts to create a final precursor solution, which may undergo spray pyrolysis followed by drying and calcination to create cathode materials with high consistency and repeatability, or mixed with an alkaline metal salt solution and undergo electrodeposition to recover desired metal salts.