Factors central to the success of recycling include the ease of collecting products, the cost of recycling processes, and the economic value of recovered materials. The average embodied economic values of representative LIBs between 2018-2021 are shown in Fig. (complete references are listed in Supplementary Information). In LIBs, between 2018-2021, Li, Ni, and Co comprise the highest embodied economic value, and Al and Cu account for a significant weight percentage of EV battery packs (approximately 25%) . Despite an embodied economic value that is 2-10 times higher compared to the lead in lead-acid batteries, LIBs are only recycled 2-47% globally , compared to 99% for lead-acid batteries in the U.S. Regardless, the untapped potential of LIB recycling constitutes a significant economic and environmental opportunity that requires evaluation across several application scales, from numerous small-scale consumer electronic LIBs (e.g., 10-100 Wh) to fewer large-scale transportation and stationary storage LIB packs (e.g., 10-100 kWh) . In addition, the preferred chemistries by automakers have evolved to hedge potential critical mineral shortages and react to market shifts, such as the near tripling of lithium carbonate prices in early 2022. Existing LIB variation and supply chain complexity highlight the need for a methodical and comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) between circular (i.e., recycling used batteries) and conventional supply chains, which is also necessary for future recycling of the evolving portfolio of battery chemistries. Representative LIBs are from consumer electronics using lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), and electric vehicle battery packs including lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC111 and NMC811), lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA), lithium manganese oxide (LMO), and lithium iron phosphate (LFP). Data are based on market values adjusted for inflation between January 2018 and December 2021 (complete references are listed in Fig. in Supplementary Information), and the uncertainty denotes a 90% confidence interval, which may overlap with the data point in some instances, obscuring their view. The blue shaded area in the upper panel represents the average commodity values of commonly recycled products: glass, paper, plastic, and metal cans (more details are provided in Fig. ). b, Cradle-to-gate steps of manufacturing battery-grade LIB materials (i.e., salts) from conventional and circular supply chains, both of which include three steps: extraction, transport, and refinement. Extraction and transport are considered upstream steps relative to gate-to-gate refinement, which is indicated by the red shaded area between "input" and "output" gates. Cradle-to-gate analysis considers the refinement and upstream processes together.