The race to stretch battery life
Like any sector in its infancy, the battery recycling industry is still finding its way and building capacity.
One challenge is to assess the multiple types of batteries that now enter the recycling supply chain and identify which is better suited to second life or recycling depending upon their state if health and electrochemistry.
With lithium ion phosphate batteries gaining market share, largely from Chinese vehicles sold globally, companies are seeking an economic way to recycle these batteries. Chris Reed, MD and CEO at Neometals, describes this as a “work in progress”.
Eco-Stor is seeking to take batteries from multiple manufacturers with the aim of integrating them into a new energy storage platform.
“What’s going to be interesting is the relationship we have with the OEMs and the battery manufacturers, to understand how they build and design their battery systems with an intent that they can be reused,” says Chief Business Development Officer, Harvey Mancey. “That builds volume, and volume builds the opportunity to reduce cost and be competitive.”
Some OEM batteries have 10 to 15 years’ potential second life. Heavy transport batteries, which are unable to perform their initial function once their capacity drops to 85-90%, can yield 10,000 to 15,000 cycles of use in wider industry.
“We see a big opportunity for extended performance beyond the original design of the battery system,” says Mancey.
“We see a big opportunity for extended performance beyond the original design of the battery system.”
Harvey Mancey, Chief Business Development Officer, Eco-Stor
How to handle black mass?
One current bottleneck is the refining of batteries to produce battery chemicals for reuse. To date, significant investment has gone into battery shredding processes, which produce black mass – a product that cannot be used in a battery.
Building up refinery is an especially big challenge, especially if geopolitical considerations demand that this is done in a closed loop within the U.S. or Europe, says Kunal Sinha, Head of Recycling at Glencore.
“I don’t think the capacity is there yet to meet the demand, and it won’t be there for quite some time,” he says. “It’s technically more complex, it’s harder to operate and requires more capital.”
Recycling hit by cyclical dip
Recent declines in the prices of metals, including lithium, nickel, and cobalt, have hit recyclers’ profits.
Sinha sees this as part of the natural cyclical nature of similar industries. Even in the absence of profitable commercial agreements, he points out, companies can depend on gate fees to meet government recycling targets. “Businesses that will survive are the ones that can apply good hedging principles and decent OPEX to go through the cycle,” he believes.
“Businesses that will survive are the ones that can apply good hedging principles and decent OPEX to go through the cycle.”
Kunal Sinha, Head of Recycling, Glencore
The diverse nature of battery feedstocks makes it harder to standardize operations, he adds. “I believe for people who are innovative and manage the business world, the margins will be sustainable.”
Europe leads, but U.S. offers opportunity
While the U.S. has offered tax incentives for recycling facilities, Europe is ahead on regulation, notably through the EU Battery Directive and the Critical Raw Materials Act.
Neometals’ decision to select Europe as its first market was driven by European OEMs’ faster embrace of EVs. Compressed schedules for recycling permits have also helped, says Reed: “The certainty around the approval timelines was fantastic.”
“The certainty around the approval timelines in Europe was fantastic.”
Chris Reed, MD and CEO, Neometals
Recycling and processing plants must now be approved within a 15-month period, while the new Net Zero Industry Act sets maximum permitting times for relevant projects at 6 to 18 months. “I think Europe has taken a very well balanced approach,” says Reed.
Eco-Stor launched in Norway and is now extending its plans across other European markets. “In Europe we’re quite blessed. There’s quite an active and buoyant effort around developing systems and solutions for second life,” Mancey says.
Sinha points to Europe’s high collection of e-waste for recycling, around 45%. In the U.S., by contrast, collection remains the province of the private sector and is prohibitively expensive.
He believes the U.S. could learn from the EU Battery Directive, but nevertheless points to U.S. funding opportunities through the Inflation Reduction Act. “My view is in the end, we’ll get to the same endpoint on both sides of the Atlantic – it will just be taking a different path,” he concludes.
