Battery materials
and recycling
Why battery recycling?
The lithium-ion battery market and the need for battery recycling globally is driven by the growth of electric vehicles. Globally, it is expected to add at least 40m EVs annually on the road by 2030, from almost 14m added in 2023. Battery recycling is gaining focus as more spent (end of life) batteries are coming onto the market after they have been used – typical passenger EV lifespan is expected to be 10-20 years, and the ascent of EV adoption globally has only been a relatively recent phenomenon with Tesla launching its mass market Model 3 in 2017.
How can etasca help?
The etasca team has worked with industry leading market and analytics company focussing on lithium-ion battery end of life market. We have developed detailed process flow diagrams and techno-economic assessments of various battery recycling processes.
Interested? contactus@etasca.com
GWh
of lithium-ion batteries
are expected to be
placed in the market
annually in 2030(1)
billion USD
Estimated global vehicle
battery market size in 2022
%
CAGR
growth between
2023-2030(1)
Commercial considerations:
The EV battery market is currently dominated by Lithium-ion batteries or LIB, accounting for 95% of the global market share.
- Lead acid batteries hold the second largest share, followed by nickel metal-hybrid. Lithium-ion batteries are mostly adopted in electric vehicles with their cost of production dropping nearly 97% in the last 30 years.
The global EV market share is mainly dominated by Asia Pacific (17.7 bn USD). Asia is expected to retain its position throughout the forecast period.
- China is the major driver of demand market growth in the region with 3.3 million units sold in 2021 according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Europe trails behind with its units of sales reaching 2.3 million in 2021. Increasing regulations and the number of emission control norms are expected to boost the demand for LIBs.
Increasing consumer spending on EVs to drive the global battery market.
- The sales of EVs doubled in 2021 from 2020 to a new record of 6.6 million with consumers spending over 250bn USD on EVs in 2021(1).
Battery recycling is gaining focus as more spent batteries (end-of-life) are coming onto the market.
- A typical passenger EV market lifespan is on average 15 years and by 2028, approximately 16,500 tonnes of EV battery packs are estimated to need processing with the figure reaching around 150,000 tonnes by 2035 (2).
1. International Energy Agency
2. Faraday institution
Technical considerations:
Lithium-ion batteries or LIBs vary based on the materials present in the cathode, which categorizes them into different types.
- The main LIBs used in industry include NMC (Nickel manganese cobalt oxide), LCO (Lithium cobalt oxide), LMO (Lithium manganese oxide), and LFP (Lithium iron phosphate).
- NMC batteries offer higher energy density for longer range and faster charging, while LFP batteries prioritize safety with thermal stability, longer cycle life, and lower cost due to the absence of heavy metals.
- LFP batteries are becoming more popular in the EV market, mainly driven by Chinese OEMs with around 95% of the Chinese light duty vehicles using this LFP battery.
There are numerous ways to recycle end-of-life batteries.
- Hydrometallurgy is the common method for recycling end-of-life batteries. Technical considerations encompass optimizing leaching processes in hydrometallurgy to efficiently dissolve metals while minimizing environmental impact.
- Pyrometallurgy and direct recycling methods offer alternative approaches, each with its benefits and challenges.
- Currently, battery packs designated for recycling are often shredded and pre-treated to create a substance known as black mass. Alternatively, a method involving the manual disassembly of battery packs into individual cells and other components may require more labor.