The year 2020 is expected to mark an acceleration in the development of electromobility in Europe. Volkswagen, the world’s leading automotive manufacturer, has launched the commercialisation of its first fully electric mass-market vehicle, the ID.3. More broadly, the entire automotive industry appears to have mobilised and is relying on electromobility to comply with increasingly stringent CO₂ emission regulations coming into force across the continent as of 2020.
While electric vehicles (both hybrid and fully battery-powered) can contribute to reducing pollution associated with road transport, concerns have been raised regarding the need to ensure a balanced and sustainable development of electromobility. Lithium-ion battery technology, used in the vast majority of electric vehicles currently on the market, has in particular come under scrutiny. Although comparatively more reliable and cost-competitive than alternative technologies, lithium batteries have enabled the large-scale deployment of electric vehicles with satisfactory driving range. However, their production relies on finite natural resources (notably lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese), whose extraction is both costly and energy-intensive, and whose supply chains will need to demonstrate resilience in the face of rapidly increasing electric vehicle volumes.
At the other end of the value chain, electric vehicle batteries will generate significant volumes of materials that are difficult to recycle. Current collection and recovery systems are not yet adapted to handle these potentially hazardous waste streams, and will need to develop appropriate processes as well as sufficient treatment capacity. Beyond preventing the disposal of toxic materials in landfills, the challenge of recycling is to recover the materials contained in batteries —particularly metals— in order to realise the concept of a “urban mine” and generate both environmental and economic benefits.
This study aims to detail the challenges associated with the development of a European electric vehicle battery recycling value chain and to provide initial elements for analysis of:
▪ The expected growth in demand for electric vehicle battery recycling by 2030 and the associated potential metal resource base (“urban mine” concept)
▪ Existing solutions and the current structure of the lithium-ion battery recycling market (key projects, technical challenges, key players)
▪ The role of recycling within today’s electric vehicle battery value chain and the opportunities for stakeholders to evolve their business models
