Title: The Lithium Battery Recycling Challenge | Waste Management World
Headings: The Lithium Battery Recycling Challenge
The Lithium Battery Recycling Challenge
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Content: Early stage partnerships and research programs such as LithoRec and LiBRi with stakeholders across the value chain demonstrate the immediate need to develop comprehensive recycling solutions. Challenges in recycling
The battery recycling market is largely price driven as technology is not a critical differentiating factor. All the key participants implement the same level of technology in their product offerings. Therefore, the key differentiating factor becomes price, which in a competitive environment reduces profitability for battery recycling firms. Specialised processes and dedicated small scale recycling plants closer to vehicle manufacturers are likely to be the trend in the future. The main challenge hindering the industry is the long-term nature of financial investments required by market participants to develop specialised waste disposal services. As the market is still unexplored, the specific impacts and overall profitability of these investments are unknown and thereby create ambiguity and uncertainty about making such commitments. With lithium recycling in its infancy, there is currently no main recycling infrastructure in the world that treats only automotive Li-ion batteries. A few pilot plants, such as Umicore's Hoboken plant in Belgium that are at a demonstration stage exist. Lack of standardisation in battery chemistries and changing landscape with respect to different elements under research for battery production other than lithium have made evaluation of the recycled value of the components uncertain for the recyclers.