EV Battery recycling & second life applications

A significant increase to 1.7 million tonnes of cell equivalent battery waste, or a 259% increase over 2021, is predicted for the volume of end-of-life batteries and production scrap that will be available for recycling by 2030. By 2030, it is anticipated that the Asian market will hold about 60% of the global market share for this waste, with Europe and the US contributing between 25% and 30% of the total volume.

According to the proposed EU legislation, cobalt, copper, and nickel should yield 95% in lithium-ion battery recycling processes by 2030 while lithium should yield 70%. In addition, battery products will need to be labeled by 2027 with the percentage of recycled material that went into their construction.

A key component of the full battery life cycle is the second-life market. The possibility of utilizing the batteries from electric vehicles in stationary energy storage systems is currently the subject of ongoing discussions. Batteries from, for instance, warranty replacements were used to build a number of large-scale stationary energy storage systems, and these systems have shown to be reliable in use. The conversion of internal combustion engine vehicles, the installation of home energy storage systems, or the electrification of boats are just a few examples of potential uses for reusing EV batteries. Reusing EV batteries, however, presents considerable difficulties because of the variations in type and capacity between the available items. Additionally, modules or cells, like those taken from the Tesla Model 3, can be targeted at the market for refurbished cells.

The 73 European businesses that are engaged in or provide support for battery second-life applications are listed below in an up-to-date presentation. Five categories are used to categorize the map:

1 Collection and transportation to the facility

2 Identification and status determination

3 Choosing the end-of-life strategy

4 Technical processing

5 integration and installation

Source: Europe runs on Polish lithium-ion batteries | PSPA (access the report here)