While recycling of lithium and other materials such as cobalt from batteries will greatly increase in the coming years, the potential availability of second life batteries should not be underestimated, according to new research and data.
Hans Eric Melin, an expert on the lifecycle management of lithium batteries with UK-headquartered consultancy Circular Energy Storage, previously commented on the growing volumes of batteries and their materials for this site – something else that the consultant claims is also widely underestimated.
In July, Melin told this site that that more than 70% of lithium-ion batteries recycled today are processed in China and South Korea, with “high” recovery rates of materials, with many of his findings to that point published in a report commissioned by the Swedish Energy Agency.
Circular Energy Storage’s newest data, which the consultant contacted this site about, predicts that “more than 1.2 million tonnes of waste lithium-ion batteries will be recycled worldwide by 2030”. By then, the amount of recycled lithium available to the global battery supply chain will be equivalent to about half of today’s lithium mining market, while the amount of recycled cobalt in 2030 will be around a quarter of today’s equivalent.
Second life importance
Between 2019 and 2030, close to 1,000GWh of “remanufactured and second life batteries” will be in use worldwide. Hans Eric Melin told Energy-Storage.news that it is inevitable that second life batteries will become available “for those who see the opportunities.” While portable electronics batteries will be the overall biggest sector lithium battery waste will come from, 75% of electric vehicle batteries – everything from e-scooters to buses, forklifts and trucks by 10 years’ time could be remanufactured into other vehicles or stationary energy storage systems, Circular Energy Storage has found.
With China expected to dominate lithium recycling efforts – as well as being a likely contributor of some 57% of lithium battery waste by 2030, it’s also likely the country will “take a tighter grip on” recycling and recovery and will also be the biggest source of second life batteries by volume.
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