Li-ion Battery Recycling - Overview of Materials Flow and Technological Advancements

Today, the world is increasingly dependent on the power and convenience brought by lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), powering devices from smart phones to electric vehicles (EVs). Recently, the use of LIBs has increased exponentially such that their manufacturing and disposal have become subjects of political and environmental concerns. One of the LIBs high demands is in the EVs manufacturing. According to a report of International Energy Agency (IEA) [1], it is estimated that the EV stock grows by 23% annually from 2023 to 2035. Consequently, the manufacturing capacity of LIBs, constituting critical metals such as cobalt, is projected to exponentially grow. With the average EV batteries life span of 8 years or disposal when their capacity decays to 70%–80% of the initial capacity, expectations of a substantial accumulation of spent LIBs within the next decade is alarming [2]. Therefore, evaluating recycling strategies becomes an essential pillar for sustainable resource management.

To satisfy the demand for raw materials in the LIBs manufacturing, harnessing the potential of existing resources within the spent batteries is vital. Counting on these sources will expedite and secure the manufacturing of new batteries and reduce dependencies on primary raw materials supplying countries. In this regard, this review involves a comprehensive understanding of LIB's material flow, and the resource requirements associated with LIBs manufacturing.

Currently, pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical techniques are widely applied for the recovery of critical metals from spent LIBs. To attain a higher recycling efficiency with less impact on the environment, the prevailing recycling processes need to be further developed. Addressing recycling challenges encompasses refining existing processes and even challenging the design of batteries to enhance recyclability. In these processing techniques, valuable metals are the primary focus of recovery. However, graphite, which is an essential component of the LIBs and EU’s critical material, is often lost to the black mass and there is no such developed industrial scale technique to recover it.

This review summarizes LIBs material flow and the major industrial scale LIBs recycling technologies and highlights future developments in attaining higher recycling efficiency. Metallurgical solutions driving future advancements for a feasible and environmentally friendly way of reclaiming all critical resources from spent LIBs will be presented.

Keywords:
Battery Materials, Recycling, Circular Economy, Process Metallurgy

References
[ 1 ] IEA, International Energy Agency, Global EV Outlook 2024. https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a9e3544b-0b12-4e15-b407-65f5c8ce1b5f/GlobalEVOutlook2024.pdf (accessed on April 29, 2025).
[ 2 ] X. Lai, Q. Chen, X. Tang, Y. Zhou, F. Gao, Y. Guo, R. Bhagat, Y. Zheng, Critical review of life cycle assessment of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles: a lifespan perspective. eTransportation 12 (2022), 100169. DOI: 10.1016/j.etran.2022.100169

Biography:
Dr. Fiseha Tesfaye is a High-T Process Metallurgist at Metso Metals Oy and an Adj. Prof. at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Åbo Akademi University, Finland. In 2018, Dr. Tesfaye was also appointed as a Visiting Scientist at Seoul National University, Korea. Dr. Tesfaye is the Chair of the TMS Energy Committee, Associate Editor of JOM (Springer), and a Guest Editor for several other journals. In his research areas, Dr. Tesfaye has published over 110 peer-reviewed papers.