Rising Demand for Electric Vehicles Are Influencing Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Market

Limited Availability of the Raw Materials Used in Lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturing and Rising Demand For Electric Vehicles are Influencing Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Market. Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Market size is forecast to reach US$10.7 billion by 2026, after growing at a CAGR of 24.8% during 2021-2026. 

The Lithium-ion Battery Recycling market is growing at a significant rate during the forecast period, owning to the government's push for electric vehicles coupled with rising demand for smart devices. In addition, the growing awareness of the environmental hazards associated with lithium-ion batteries propels the companies to recycle the batteries, driving the growth of the global lithium-ion battery recycling market. Regions such as China and Europe have released regulations on Recycling of Motive Lithium Ion Batteries, owing to the growing community concern about the impact of waste lithium ion batteries on the environment and public health. Various governments such as of Germany are promoting people to give their batteries back for recycling. Such initiative by government is supporting Li-ion battery recycling market.

The world's number of electric vehicles has seen a dramatic rise in recent years, pegging the world's current number of EVs at around 4 million. According to International Energy Agency, the number will increase up to 125 million by 2030 and more eclectic vehicles will come with Li-ion batteries. With such volumes of Li-ion batteries driving towards their end of useful life, there is a pressing need to ensure efficient lifecycle management of the batteries. In 2019, The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has opened a battery recycling research and development center at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois. The goal of the R&D facility is to reclaim and recycle materials such as cobalt and lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has invested around $5.5 million to launch the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize, with NREL as prize administrator. This competition is designed to incentivize American innovators and businesses to develop and demonstrate processes that, when scaled, have the potential to profitably capture 90% of all discarded or spent lithium-ion batteries in the U.S.  

Asia Pacific is anticipated to emerge as a major player in the global market over the forecast period driven by increasing government regulations and established lithium-ion battery manufacturers in the region. China released its regulations on the Recycling of Motive Lithium Ion Batteries in 2015, which encourages manufacturers of EVs to establish their own LIB (Lithium Ion Battery) recycling infrastructure. Chinese firms invested in South Korea battery recycling partnership. New Joint venture with Taisen Recycling in South Korea will receive waste batteries from overseas at the refinery and export the lithium ion batteries raw materials to China for the final process of Cobalt, Nickel, 3-1 Compound (Co, Ni, Mn) and lithium Carbonate battery grades. Initiatives by the Government of India will accelerate the growth of the lithium ion battery recycling market. The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020, with a projection of getting 6-7 million electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2020 and target of 175 GW installation of renewable energy by 2022, will support the growth of the market in this country. From 2022 on, the recycling market in India will begin to pick up as lithium-ion batteries currently in use hit their end of life.  In addition, Tata Chemicals launched its pilot lithium-ion battery recycling operations in Mumbai in August, and plans to scale it up to recycle 500 tons of spent lithium-ion batteries in near future. Therefore, these factors are influencing Lithium-ion battery recycling market growth in the region.

However, operations in various industries such as electronics, automotive, power, and so on have been significantly affected due to the COVID-19 epidemic, as most countries have issued “stay at home guidance” i.e., lockdown. The operations of these industries have been halted and are facing issues such as late delivery and increased import-export tariff due to strict movement restriction, which is heavily affecting the lithium-ion battery recycling market growth.

The lithium-ion battery recycling market is influenced by rising demand for electric as well as hybrid electric vehicles, where lithium-ion batteries are used extensively. The adoption of these vehicles results in a price hike of battery materials such as cobalt and lithium, thus making recycling of lithium-ion battery industries more profitable. In India the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020, will boost the growth of lithium-ion battery and lithium-ion recycled battery industry, as the goal of the project is to bring 6-7 million electric vehicles on roads by 2020, and 175 GW of renewable energy production by 2022. Regulations in Europe and China hold the automaker responsible for battery recycling. Companies manufacturing electric vehicles such as BMW, Nissan, BYD, Renault and Rivian are exploring the use of recycled batteries. OEMs plan to buy back and repurpose used batteries for storage systems. The old batteries of Nissan Leaf are repurposed in Fukushima for use on other EVs and forklifts. As part of its Advanced Battery Storage Project, Renault collaborates with energy companies to build large scale storage units in Europe. These factors are supporting lithium-ion batteries recycling market.

Researchers around the world are working to improve the productivity of recycled lithium-ion batteries. In January 2019, with an investment of $15 million, the US Department of Energy launched its first Li-ion Battery Recycling R&D center-ReCell. The aim is to develop recycling technologies to make the process profitable and to reduce US reliance on battery materials from other countries. In the UK, the Lithium-Ion Battery Reuse and Recycling (ReLiB) project bring together researchers and industry representatives to improve the efficiency of Li-ion battery recycling. The EU regulation requires at least 50 percent of the battery's total weight to be recycled. Canadian company Li-cycle claims to have developed a patented technology capable of recovering from lithium-ion batteries between 80% and 100% of resources. Fortum claims that 80 percent of the products can be recycled from all-used batteries by its recycling system. These advances in recycling technologies can go a long way toward scale-up Li-ion battery recycling around the world.

The major companies in the Lithium-ion Battery Recycling market include Shenzhen Green Eco-manufacturer Hi-Tech Co. (GEM), Valdi (ERAMET), Umicore Battery Recycling, JX Nippon Mining and Metals Co., Accurec Recycling GmbH and others. These industry players are involved in various strategic initiatives to expand their presence. For instance, in January 2019, Gem Co. Ltd. Along with other partners and Tsingshan Holding Group Co. Ltd. have entered a joint venture to develop a $700 million battery chemicals project in Indonesia. The plant produce raw materials for batteries such as nickel hydroxide intermediates, nickel sulphate crystals, cobalt sulphate crystals, and manganese sulphate crystals. In March 2018, Accurec Recycling GmbH has expanded its second phase of construction of Krefeld Plant. The plant is used for Li-battery recycling where 4,000 tons of Li-batteries have been treated within 2 years’ time.