Recycling End-of-Life Electric Vehicle Lithium-Ion Batteries

Summary

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) play a significant role in our highly electrified world and will continue to lead technology innovations. Millions of vehicles are equipped with or directly powered by LIBs, mitigating environmental pollution and reducing energy use. This rapidly increasing use of LIBs in vehicles will introduce a large quantity of spent LIBs within an 8–10-year span. Proper handling of end-of-life (EOL) vehicle LIBs is required, and multiple options should be considered. This paper demonstrates that the necessity for EOL recycling is underpinned by leveraging fluctuating material costs, uneven distribution and production, and the transport situation. From a life-cycle perspective, remanufacturing and repurposing extend the life of LIBs, and industrial demonstrations indicate that this is feasible. Recycling is the ultimate option for handling EOL LIBs, and recent advancements both in research and industry regarding pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical, and direct recycling are summarized. Currently, none of the current battery recycling technologies is ideal, and challenges must be overcome. This article is anticipated as a starting point for a more sophisticated study of recycling, and it suggests potential improvements in the process through mutual efforts from academia, industry, and governments.