Market Drivers and Challenges in EV Battery Recycling
Batteries are the most important component in electric mobility today. Engineers worldwide are constantly researching new technologies and solutions to make batteries even more powerful, safer and more durable.
This hunt for outperforming current technologies also has its downsides, because it is very resource-intensive, especially if the need for rare or problematic materials is immense. It is therefore all the more important to take a look at a previously subordinate aspect of electromobility: the logistics behind EV battery recycling.
Elayne Thomas, Senior Research Engineer at Saint-Gobain®, will take us on an EV battery circularity journey through the jungle of different market drivers, regulations and government incentives across different continents.
Market drivers are commonly defined as factors or forces that influence the demand and supply of goods and services in a market. They can be internal or external and may include things like changes in consumer preferences, government regulations, technology advancements, economic growth or decline, and competition.
Elayne, what are current market drivers for EV battery recycling?
The most important market drivers behind EV battery recycling currently are environmental concerns, government regulations, and economic incentives. Among others, environmental concerns are a strong reason for many consumers to give preference to electric vehicles over combustion engines when buying.
We see a trend that these environmental concerns to purchase electric vehicles no longer refers only to use, but also to exploitation at the end of life. As the battery is a major component of EVs, recycling these batteries and especially their hazardous materials help to reduce the amount of waste and emissions generated by the electric mobility industry.
On the one hand, awareness is increasingly coming from consumers themselves, and on the other hand, battery recycling is being pushed by government regulations. Many governments around the world have implemented regulations that require manufacturers to take responsibility for the disposal and recycling of their products, including EV batteries. For example, the European Union's Battery Regulation requires that all batteries placed on the market in the EU be collected and recycled. Similarly, China has implemented regulations that require manufacturers to take back and recycle their batteries. These regulations create a market driver for companies to invest in EV battery recycling facilities. While the US enforces vehicle manufacturers to properly dispose of batteries at EOL, only approximately 5% of batteries are actually recycled due to the lack of infrastructure in the US.
Another driver for EV battery recycling are economic incentives. EV battery recycling can be profitable due to the valuable materials they contain, such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium. Beyond the monetary and emissions expense of shipping materials thousands of miles across the world, creating a more circular ecosystem for batteries de-risks the supply chain and has potential to create thousands of jobs. The demand for these materials is expected to increase as the electric mobility industry grows. For these reasons, some governments offer significant economic incentives, such as tax credits or subsidies, to companies that invest in EV battery recycling technologies.
In one of our previous articles, we focused on the challenges in EV battery recycling such as the complexity of the process and gave an overview of different recycling methods existing today. In this article, we will draw attention to the logistics behind EV battery recycling.
Elayne, how does the logistic landscape for battery recycling look like today?
While there is much excitement around the value of EV batteries, it’s important to remember that there are still significant safety concerns around their use and transfer. And while battery recycling technologies are often discussed, an important but less discussed aspect is the transportation of the battery.
Transportation can account for approximately 50% of end-of-life costs. There are multiple players to consider when a battery reaches its end of life. First, the car goes to an automotive dismantler, which can separate the battery from the rest of the car. At this point, it is up to the dismantler whether to dispose of it directly or to send it to a recycling facility.
Once transferred to the recycling facility for the materials to be recovered and purified, those materials must be returned to the supplier to be fed back into the raw materials supply.
An important regulatory body in this process is the US Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency that ensures that batteries are transported effectively between each of these stakeholders. The material and size of the container are chosen to ensure the battery will not catch fire in the event of a crash, for instance. The condition of the battery will determine the stringency of these requirements; if the battery is damaged or defective, more care must be taken to avoid a dangerous situation.
Additionally, while the number of recyclers grows in the US, batteries may still need to travel hundreds of miles to get to the correct destination. While it’s better than shipping overseas, the importance of logistics cannot be overlooked for the process to be successful.
Thank you for these insights and assessments. We have seen and are still witnessing rapid developments in EV battery technologies globally. Currently, most EV batteries are based on Li-Ion but with many different technologies like solid state, lithium-Sulfur (Li-S), zinc-air or sodium-Ion (Na-ion) — only to name a few — and we are far from a common technological standard. This increases the challenges for battery recycling now and for the future.
Which trends, developments and expectations do you see for future EV battery recycling logistics when growing numbers will reach their end of life?
It is an exciting time to be watching the battery recycling space all around the world. First, I expect strategic partnerships throughout the value chain to develop driven by geographical proximity. One example is between LG, GM, and Li-Cycle, a start-up company developing solvent-based recycling technologies.
Secondly, there will continue to be a boom of companies creating novel recycling and disassembly methods to increase the profitability and purity of battery materials. With these short-term trends, I expect to see continued design development for batteries that are designed for disassembly, such as the use of debondable adhesives and thermal-interface materials, to reduce the energy intensiveness of the recovery process.
Lastly, trends around recycling technology will be influenced by the rise of LFP chemistries, as these raw materials are not currently as profitable as those in NMC cathodes. However, new business models may emerge, such as regaining manufacturing value along with materials value in order to give batteries a second life.
Thanks, Elayne, for these insights and trends in EV battery recycling. We have seen a lot is in motion and the topic will become increasingly important in the near future for all involved. While currently performance, safety and durability are the main drivers in EV battery design, the recycling component might soon play a much more important role with strong influence on new technologies, designs and materials used.
To be prepared and at the forefront of solutions, talk to your tape expert today and see how specific high-performance solutions with optimized end-of-life properties could help make the world a better home.