Dynamic material flow analysis of critical metals for lithium-ion battery system in China from 2000–2018

Lithium and cobalt are key raw materials for the production of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). This study illustrates the evolution of lithium and cobalt metabolism in the LIB system in China by applying dynamic bottom-up material flow analysis. From 2000 to 2018, the consumption of LIBs increased from 1.4 kt (0.2 GWh) to 547.1 kt (102.9 GWh) in China. The cumulative consumption of lithium and cobalt for LIB production was 61.8 kt and 247.6 kt, respectively. From 2000 to 2014, the popularization of mobile phones and laptops promoted the consumption of lithium and cobalt. After 2015, electric automobiles gradually became a major driving force for the growth of lithium and cobalt consumption. The increasing use of LIBs resulted in the growth of in-use stocks of lithium and cobalt from 0.03 kt and 0.2 kt in 2000 to 17.5 kt and 31.0 kt in 2018, respectively. Meanwhile, end-of-life (EOL) LIBs were rapidly generated, with the increase from 0.1 kt/yr to 110.7 kt/yr. In 2018, 0.4 kt of lithium and 3.1 kt of cobalt were recovered from these EOL LIBs in 2018, which provided 4.2% and 12.8% of the lithium and cobalt supplies for new LIBs, respectively. Besides, 1.1 kt of EOL LFP batteries were used in echelon utilization in 2018. Based on the results, some recommendations were proposed for the sustainable development and waste management of LIB industries, including encouraging the innovation of LIB technology and combining multiple technologies, strengthening closed-loop management of LIBs, and promoting echelon utilization of EOL LIBs.