Page 10 - AsiaElec Week 49 2021

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Li-ion battery recycling

not expected to take off

before 2030

GLOBAL LITHIUM-ION (Li-ion) battery recycling is not cathodes to cell manufacturers, whilst recyclers
expected to take off before 2030, according to a will struggle with the large mass and complexity
new report by Wood Mackenzie, while China is of EV-packs.”
forecast to remain as key battery recycling centre A new cathode facility will produce 50 kilo-
in the long term. tonnes per annum (ktpa) of NMC (nickel, man-
The report found that electric vehicles (EVs) ganese and cobalt) material, whilst a recycling
accounted for just under 7% of passenger car facility will typically process 5-10 ktpa of e-waste
sales globally in 2020. – the former equating to roughly 400,000 battery
Wood Mackenzie’s base case scenario expects EVs annually and the latter taking in just roughly
penetration to reach 23% by 2030. This transition 30,000 EV-packs yearly.
to the massive scale-up of EVs naturally points to Reid also pointed to the lack of recyclable
an equally high demand for Li-ion batteries. By feedstock as a major barrier. Even though EV
2040, 89% of Li-ion battery demand will come manufacturing is set to boom before 2030, the
from the EV sector, the report said. number of end-of-life (EoL) batteries available
Wood Mackenzie research analyst Max Reid for recycling will remain limited for two main
said: “Underneath the surface of this electric reasons: EV penetration at the beginning of the
future lies a relatively young supply chain strug- decade is much lower than at the end, and EVs
gling to keep up. The Li-ion battery demand have an increasingly long lifespan reaching up
market can fluctuate over months and expand- to 15 years.
ing upstream and midstream to produce battery The lack of available secondary supply from
materials involves lead times of several years. recycling is evident, and yet the recycling sector
“As it is a new industry, there is limited his- is already scaling up quite aggressively.
toric capacity to flip the switch on, and yet many According to Wood Mackenzie’s analysis, the
see this as a ripe environment for recycling to total capacity of planned recycling facilities will
make a tangible impact.” still overshoot feedstock in 2030 when EoL EV
Currently, battery recycling focusses on the numbers begin to ramp up.
portable electronics market. Recyclers benefit The resulting supply imbalance will leave
from technologies with an easily accessible bat- independent recyclers, especially in North
tery, compared with EV batteries. EV-packs are America and Europe, in a scramble for used EV
complex to disassemble into individual cells, so batteries.
recyclers are left to discharge packs in conductive China, which has a mature and large re-use
baths before mechanically shredding them into a and refurbishment sector for portable electron-
mix of constituent materials. ics, benefits from proximity to the midstream.
Furthermore, currently new batteries cost Chinese recyclers benefit from greater integra-
less to produce, hence disincentivising battery tion with nearby cathode production plants, so
recycling as the value of recovered material is Chinese recyclers can regularly bid much higher
reduced. prices for used batteries than their Western
Also, battery manufacturers are leaning counterparts. Until North America and Europe
towards using cheaper materials leaving recy- have developed more integrated raw mate-
clers to increase the efficiency of their processes rial supply chains, China will remain the most
to maintain profit. Moreover, the introduction appealing location for battery recycling.
of new materials such as solid-state electrolytes Reid said: “Bullish expectations for Li-ion
will require recyclers to retrofit their processes. recycling may well lead to a rush of new entrants
Reid said: “This decade will see the supply to the space. However, limitations on feedstocks
chain further establish itself to be able to supply mean that only the large and integrated will likely
vast quantities of battery-grade chemicals and survive and reap the rewards in later years.”™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 49 08•December•2021