Waste energy storage battery recycling

What is waste lithium-ion battery recycling?

Waste lithium-ion battery recycling technologies (WLIBRTs) can not only relieve the pressure on the ecological environment, but also help to break the resource bottleneck of new energy industries, thereby promoting the development of a circular economy, enhancing both sustainability and economic efficiency .

How are EV batteries recycled?

The first use in EVs increases user costs to $157/kWh battery. Finally, the battery is retired at 90% SOH and recycled using hydrometallurgical recycling. In contrast, the optimized pathway diverges after the first use stage. The process includes refurbishment, reuse, and recycling.

Are lithium ion batteries recyclable?

Remaining issues regarding each recycling method are discussed. The future recycling system of LIBs is proposed. As the number of spent lithium ion batteries (LIBs) increases, their recycling has become of great significance in order to conserve resources and limit the environmental impact.

What are the reuse and recycling pathways of lithium-ion batteries?

Fig. 1: Reuse and recycling pathways considering economic and environmental functions. Our method encompasses the system boundaries of the lithium-ion battery life cycle, namely, cradle-to-grave, incorporating new battery production, first use, refurbishment, reuse, and end-of-life (EOL) stages.

What technologies are used to recycle batteries?

When the batteries are subjected to the EOL stage, pretreatment and three recycling technologies are considered, including hydrometallurgical, direct, and pyrometallurgical recycling. Pink and teal icons illustrate the economic and environmental functions of each stage.

Can retired electric vehicle batteries be recycled?

Reuse and recycling of retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries offer a sustainable waste management approach but face decision-making challenges. Based on the process-based life cycle assessment method, we present a strategy to optimize pathways of retired battery treatments economically and environmentally.