Study says battery recycling could boost cobalt supplies

United Kingdom-based IDTechEx, in a report titled “Li-ion Battery Recycling Market 2022-2042,” says that more than 8 percent of cobalt demand and more than 6 percent of lithium demand will be supplied by recycled lithium-ion batteries by 2030. However, a higher percentage could be available if recycling investments ramp up.

In theory, says the research group, approximately 15 percent of cobalt demand could be met from recycled material by 2030. However, says IDTechEx, “This is unlikely to happen due to the difficulty in collecting and diverting the high cobalt batteries from consumer electronics.”

Nevertheless, the inherent value in consumer electronics batteries suggests more comprehensive collection and distribution to appropriate recycling facilities “needs to be considered,” the report’s authors say. “This argument can be furthered when considering the increasing possibility of material supply bottleneck,” adds IDTechEx.

The research group estimates cobalt shortages could arise from the mid-to-late 2020s, “with bottlenecks also expected to arise for lithium, and possibly other [battery] materials as well.” As a result, lithium-ion battery recycling “takes on added importance,” IDTechEx says.

In the study, end-of-life batteries from electric vehicles (including cars, trucks, two-wheelers and buses), consumer electronics, stationary storage, as well as battery manufacturing scrap, were examined to gain a clear view of the potential metal recovery recycling is expected to provide.

IDTechEx forecasts that a combined total of over 180,000 metric tons of lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese could be recovered by 2030 through battery recycling, a value that is forecast to grow by approximately tenfold by 2042.

“Recycling will not be a silver bullet and fix all the challenges faced by the lithium-ion industry, but it can help the shift toward a circular economy and will play an important role in minimizing material shortages and the negative impacts of lithium-ion battery production,” states IDTechEx.

More information on the study can be found on this web page.