Market and Technology Trends

Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Market & Technology Trends 2020

By Yole Intelligence — Jul 2020

The value of Lithium-ion battery recycling will be catalyzed by proper waste regulation

Glossary and definition 2

EV/HEV classification and terms used in this report 3

Table of contents 4

Report objectives 8

Report scope 9

Report methodology 10

About the authors 11

Companies cited in this report 12

Who should be interested by this report 13

Yole Group related reports 14

Executive summary 15

Market forecasts 75

Market segmentation and methodology
Li-ion battery recycling market shares
2019 – 2025 evolution of rechargeable Li-ion battery market
COVID-19 impact on the market
2019-2025 total end-of-life Li-ion batteries – Split by application (in tons of cells/year)
2019-2040 total end-of-life Li-ion batteries – Split by application (in tons of cells/year)
2019-2025 Li-ion batteries recycling market – Split by application (in tons of cells/year)
2019-2040 Li-ion batteries recycling market – Split by application (in tons of cells/year)
2019-2025 Li-ion battery recycling market (in tons of cells/year) – Consumer goods
2019-2025 Li-ion battery recycling market (in tons of cells/year) – e-mobility
Li-ion battery recycling – Share of manufacturing scrap in battery recycling market
2019-2025 value of raw materials present in end-of-life Li-ion batteries (in $ million)
2019-2040 value of raw materials present in end-of-life Li-ion batteries (in $ million)
2019-2025 value of raw materials present in Li-ion batteries going for recycling (in $ million)
2019-2040 value of raw materials present in Li-ion batteries going for recycling (in $ million)

Market trends 103

Main battery application market trends
How is Li-ion battery demand growing?
Main battery market drivers, by application
Consumer electronics
Stationary storage application
Electric mobility
Impact of growing Li-ion battery volume on waste problem
Li-ion battery life-time by application
Time difference between production and recycling battery volumes
Global EV battery recycling market – Top impacting factors
Main drivers for Li-ion battery recycling
Market trend – Take away

Supply chain 126

Li-ion battery raw material suppliers – Cobalt and Lithium
Li-ion battery recycling companies – Geographic overview
Recycling companies and their Li-ion batteries’ recycling capacity
Li-ion battery recycling companies – Recycling processes
Transportation and packaging solutions for end-of-life Li-ion batteries
Recycling of Lithium-Ion Battery – Process flow
Recycling of Li-ion battery – Company positioning
Recycling of electric vehicle batteries
Two options for end-of-life EV batteries – Recycling directly or reuse (second-life)?
Companies involved in EV battery recycling
Why are not all recycling companies recycling EV batteries?
Li-ion battery recycling supply chain
Li-ion battery recycling supply chain movement – Partnerships, joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions
Options 2 for end-of-life EV batteries – Second-life before recycling
Companies involved in second-life battery applications
Second-life battery partnerships
Second-life battery – Supply chain trends
Second-life battery projects
How EV batteries are affecting Li-ion battery recycling business?
Supply chain – Take away

Technology trends 175

Technology trends – Battery cells and packs
Technology trends – Lithium-ion battery recycling
What is Li-ion battery recycling and why is it important?
Li-ion batteries – Recycling process
Li-ion battery recycling – Packaging of batteries
Li-ion battery recycling – Transportation of batteries
Li-ion battery recycling – Disassembly of large battery packs
Disassembly of EV battery packs – Challenges
Battery pack disassembly/ dismantling methods – Technical trend
Li-ion battery recycling – Chemical processes
Li-ion battery recycling process – Hydrometallurgical method
Advantages and disadvantages of pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical process
Which chemical process is the best for recycling?
Second-life batteries
Second-life batteries – Drivers and challenges
Second-life applications – Trends
What is the better option for EV batteries?
Safety issues with Li-ion battery recycling
Li-ion battery recycling – Challenges
Recycling of electric vehicle’s batteries – Challenges
Technology trend – Take away

Take away and outlook 220

Li-ion battery applications
Li-ion battery’s raw material availability
Take away – Market figures
Take away – Supply chain
Take away – Technology trend
Conclusion
Outlook – to watch closely in future

About Yole Développement 233

THE LITHIUM-ION BATTERY RECYCLING MARKET IS MAINLY DRIVEN BY BOOMING EV MARKET

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in consumer goods, electric and hybrid electric vehicles, stationary energy storage and other applications. Rapid growth in the electric vehicle market is crucial to solve the looming climate crisis and to meet the global target of reduced carbon dioxide emission. However, growing numbers of electric vehicles present a serious waste-management challenge for Li-ion battery recyclers at end-of-life. As the popularity of electric vehicles grows explosively, so does the pile of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries that once powered those environmentally friendly cars.

According to Yole Développement (Yole), there will be about 705,000 tons of end-of-life Li-ion batteries by 2025, and by 2040 they will hit 9 million tons per year.

Currently, only a small portion of Li-ion batteries are recycled, and the rest are unfortunately going to landfill. The total Li-ion battery recycling market was about 93,800 tons in 2019, which will grow to 459,369 tons by 2025 with 2019-2025 CAGR of 30 %.

The primary source of waste batteries is the end-of-life batteries especially in the case of consumer goods. However, manufacturing scrap generated during the manufacture of Li-ion cells has also a non-negligible share. In the case of e-mobility, manufacturing scrap has a significant share of the total Li-ion recycling market. Therefore, in their Li-ion battery recycling market forecast model, Yole analysts have included the shares of manufacturing scrap generated during the production of cells, end-of-life Li-ion batteries, and end-of-second-life Li-ion batteries.

Recycling of end-of-life batteries can provide an opportunity for the battery recyclers to recover the valuable materials which make up the battery. The total value of raw materials present in end-of-life Li-ion batteries is around $921 million, which will reach up to $1,960 million by 2025 and $26,381 million by 2040. As only a few percent of Li-ion batteries are recycled, the value of raw materials present in Li-ion batteries going for recycling is around $315 million, which will reach up to $1,137 million by 2025 and $23,812 million by 2040.

COMPANIES INVOLVED IN VARIOUS LEVELS OF THE BATTERY RECYCLING SUPPLY CHAIN ARE INTERLINKED WITH EACH OTHER

The Lithium-ion battery market is growing exponentially. The increased demand for Li-ion batteries has highlighted potential problems in the raw material supply chain (e.g., cobalt, lithium…) needed for their manufacture. There are risks associated with the geopolitical concentration of these elements. Battery recycling can reduce this risk as battery recycling can supply a significant fraction of these materials. There is currently a lot of movement in the Li-ion battery recycling market. Many new partnerships have been formed within the supply chain (from raw material mining companies to the system integrators) to secure the supply of raw materials. For example, partnership between cell manufacturers and battery recyclers (e.g. LG Chem and Envirostream); or system integrators and recyclers (e.g. Audi and Umicore) to secure the supply of raw materials for themselves or for their cell/cell component suppliers.

THE LI-ION BATTERY RECYCLING MARKET IS GROWING AND ATTRACTING MORE PLAYERS

Li-ion battery recycling is a dynamic industry. With the rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), the demand for Li-ion batteries as well as Li-ion battery recycling will grow significantly in the coming decades.

Currently, most of the recycling companies are located in China (e.g. Brunp, Huayou Cobalt, GEM) and Europe (e.g. Umicore, Akkuser, Accurec). Chinese recycling companies are at an advantage. They benefit from an already large battery market, enjoy extensive support from the state and have good access to the high volume of material to be recycled. Most of the recycling companies are gradually increasing their recycling capacity to accommodate the growing volume of end-of-life batteries. Still, it again depends on the investment required to increase the capacity. To build a new recycling plant or increase the capacity of an existing plant needs high investment. High investment, the right strategies, and the rapid increase of recycling capacity are the key. Recycling players with high investment capability and the right approach may benefit. Therefore, today’s smaller players or newcomers can increase their market shares, and the leaders can see their market shares decreasing, all depending on their approach.

As automotive makers are obliged to recycle their end-of-life batteries, most of the automotive makers are already evaluating different recycling companies and seeking the best battery recycling partners (e.g. partnership between Honda and SNAM; Audi’s and MG Motors’ partnership with Umicore) for their vehicles. The environmental criteria related to the recycling methods (pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical), various process steps and chemicals used, and the recycling capacity are amongst the most important evaluation factors.

EV’s demand very high performance from their batteries, so once the battery’s capacity declines to 70 – 80% (after 8-10 years), it needs to be swapped out. At that point, though, the battery can still handle a lot of charging and discharging, making it useful for storage in less intensive stationary applications. Currently, the majority of end-of-life batteries are going directly for recycling. However, many OEMs and energy storage companies have launched various pilot and business initiatives to explore second-life applications for used electric vehicle batteries (e.g. partnership between BMW and EVgo; Hyundai and Wartsila; Renault and Seine Alliance).

Second-life batteries provide tremendous value opportunities in the battery recycling supply chain. However, many technical, economic, and regulatory challenges exist that prevent companies from putting in place an economically viable business model for second-life batteries.

There are many new partnerships, joint ventures and acquisitions ongoing within the supply chain. These reinforce companies’ positions, secure access to strategic materials such as lithium and cobalt, ensure growth, and facilitate easier entry into new markets.

Key features

2019-2025 lithium-ion batteries recycling market by applications (in tons of cells/year)
2019-2025 value of raw materials present in end-of-life Li-ion batteries (in $ million)
2019-2025 value of raw materials present in Li-ion batteries going for recycling (in $ million)
Insight into different Li-ion cell technologies, related technology trends and their impact on battery recycling market
Supply chain analysis for Li-ion battery recycling

Report objectives

Provide the market value (in $million) of raw materials and market size (in tons/year) of rechargeable Li-ion battery recycling for consumer goods, e-mobility, stationary storage, and other applications
Demonstrate the strong, consistently growing business potential of Li-ion battery recyclers and players involved in Li-ion batteries’ second-life applications
Provide the Li-ion battery recycling supply chain landscape, including the key players for battery cells, battery packs, Li-ion battery recycling, and associated business models
Discuss market opportunities for players that can pack and transport the end-of-life batteries
Provide insight into different Li-ion cell technologies, related technology trends and their impact on battery recycling market

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Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Market & Technology Trends 2020

Key features

Report objectives

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