On the sustainability of lithium ion battery industry – A review and perspective

The consumption of rechargeable batteries has been increasing rapidly. High demand on specific metals for battery manufacturing and environmental impacts from battery disposal make it essential to recycle and retrieve materials from the spent batteries. There have been some review articles on battery recycling, mostly on the technologies for the materials recovery and some on life cycle assessment (LCA). To develop a truly sustainable battery industry, however, battery recycling must be commercially viable. Yet, very limited information on the economics of battery recycling is available. This paper examines technologies and research efforts in battery recycling from the perspective of economic viability and life cycle inventory. With the support of up-to-date statistics, the paper also comments on the challenges facing battery recycling, and the role of battery design and circular economy in the sustainable development of battery industry where governments, manufacturers and consumers all play a part.