Current Status of the Carbon Footprint Life Cycle Analysis of Power Lithium‐Ion Batteries and the Impact of Recycling on Them

Power batteries play an essential role in the road electrification process and are indispensable to achieving global carbon neutrality. However, their production process itself is an energy-intensive and high carbon emission process, among which the production of battery materials contributes the most to carbon emission. Regenerating critical metal materials by efficiently recycling spent power batteries is the most effective way to reduce the carbon footprint of battery materials. From the whole life cycle perspective, this chapter compares the carbon footprint of the pyrometallurgical + hydrometallurgical method, pure hydrometallurgical method, and direct recycling processes. It proposes the outlook of the best power battery recycling technologies based on the life cycle carbon footprint analysis.