Despite significant progress, current understanding of the relative environmental impacts of recycling LIBs is still incomplete. The most significant environmental differences between LIB production from circular and conventionally mined cathode material lie early in supply chains, comprised of extraction, transport, and refinement steps (together "cradle-to-gate," Fig. ). While several previous studies have investigated cradle-to-gate environmental impacts, gate-to-gate analyses of circular refinement processes are inconsistent, reporting environmental impacts that differ by >30% , and are not completely based on industrial-scale LIB recycling operations. The gate-to-gate refinement processes utilized at established and emerging circular refinement facilities may include mechanical separation (Me), pyrometallurgy (Py), and hydrometallurgy (Hy) . Specifically, Me physically dismantles LIBs into constituent components, Py leverages elevated temperature to facilitate thermally-driven material transformations, and Hy separates materials in the aqueous phase via leaching, precipitation, and solvent extraction processes.