Roadmap for a sustainable circular economy in lithium-ion and future battery technologies

Harper, Gavin D.J.; Kendrick, Emma; Anderson, Paul A.; Mrozik, Wojciech; Christensen, Paul; Lambert, Simon; Greenwood, David; Das, Prodip K.; Ahmeid, Mohamed; Milojevic, Zoran; Du, Wenjia; Brett, Dan J.L.; Shearing, Paul R.; Rastegarpanah, Alireza; Stolkin, Rustam; Sommerville, Roberto; Zorin, Anton; Durham, Jessica L.; Abbott, Andrew P.; Thompson, Dana; Browning, Nigel D.; Mehdi, B. Layla; Bahri, Mounib; Schanider-Tontini, Felipe; Nicholls, D.; Stallmeister, Christin; Friedrich, Bernd; Sommerfeld, Marcus; Driscoll, Laura L.; Jarvis, Abbey; Giles, Emily C.; Slater, Peter R.; Echavarri-Bravo, Virginia; Maddalena, Giovanni; Horsfall, Louise E.; Gaines, Linda; Dai, Qiang; Jethwa, Shiva J.; Lipson, Albert L.; Leeke, Gary A.; Cowell, Thomas; Farthing, Joseph Gresle; Mariani, Greta; Smith, Amy; Iqbal, Zubera; Golmohammadzadeh, Rabeeh; Sweeney, Luke; Goodship, Vannessa; Li, Zheng; Edge, Jacqueline; Lander, Laura; Nguyen, Viet Tien; Elliot, Robert J.R.; Heidrich, Oliver; Slattery, Margaret; Reed, Daniel; Ahuja, Jyoti; Cavoski, Aleksandra; Lee, Robert; Driscoll, Elizabeth; Baker, Jen; Littlewood, Peter; Styles, Iain; Mahanty, Sampriti; Boons, Frank

Roadmap for a sustainable circular economy in lithium-ion and future battery technologies

Gavin D.J. Harper, Emma Kendrick, Paul A. Anderson, Wojciech Mrozik, Paul Christensen, Simon Lambert, David Greenwood, Prodip K. Das, Mohamed Ahmeid, Zoran Milojevic, Wenjia Du, Dan J.L. Brett, Paul R. Shearing, Alireza Rastegarpanah, Rustam Stolkin, Roberto Sommerville, Anton Zorin, Jessica L. Durham, Andrew P. Abbott, Dana Thompson, Nigel D. Browning, B. Layla Mehdi, Mounib Bahri, Felipe Schanider-Tontini, D. Nicholls, Christin Stallmeister, Bernd Friedrich, Marcus Sommerfeld, Laura L. Driscoll, Abbey Jarvis, Emily C. Giles, Peter R. Slater, Virginia Echavarri-Bravo, Giovanni Maddalena, Louise E. Horsfall, Linda Gaines, Qiang Dai, Shiva J. Jethwa, Albert L. Lipson, Gary A. Leeke, Thomas Cowell, Joseph Gresle Farthing, Greta Mariani, Amy Smith, Zubera Iqbal, Rabeeh Golmohammadzadeh, Luke Sweeney, Vannessa Goodship, Zheng Li, Jacqueline Edge, Laura Lander, Viet Tien Nguyen, Robert J.R. Elliot, Oliver Heidrich, Margaret Slattery, Daniel Reed, Jyoti Ahuja, Aleksandra Cavoski, Robert Lee, Elizabeth Driscoll, Jen Baker, Peter Littlewood, Iain Styles, Sampriti Mahanty and Frank Boons

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: The market dynamics, and their impact on a future circular economy for lithium-ion batteries (LIB), are presented in this roadmap, with safety as an integral consideration throughout the life cycle. At the point of end-of-life, there is a range of potential options – remanufacturing, reuse and recycling. Diagnostics play a significant role in evaluating the state of health and condition of batteries, and improvements to diagnostic techniques are evaluated. At present, manual disassembly dominates end-of-life disposal, however, given the volumes of future batteries that are to be anticipated, automated approaches to the dismantling of end-of-life battery packs will be key. The first stage in recycling after the removal of the cells is the initial cell-breaking or opening step. Approaches to this are reviewed, contrasting shredding and cell disassembly as two alternative approaches. Design for recycling is one approach that could assist in easier disassembly of cells, and new approaches to cell design that could enable the circular economy of LIBs are reviewed. After disassembly, subsequent separation of the black mass is performed before further concentration of components. There are a plethora of alternative approaches for recovering materials; this roadmap sets out the future directions for a range of approaches including pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, short-loop, direct, and the biological recovery of LIB materials. Furthermore, anode, lithium, electrolyte, binder and plastics recovery are considered in the range of approaches in order to maximise the proportion of materials recovered, minimise waste and point the way towards zero-waste recycling. The life-cycle implications of a circular economy are discussed considering the overall system of LIB recycling, and also directly investigating the different recycling methods. The legal and regulatory perspectives are also considered. Finally, with a view to the future, approaches for next-generation battery chemistries and recycling are evaluated, identifying gaps for research.

Keywords: batteries; circular economy; legislation; lithium-ion; recycling; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 95 pages
Date: 2023-04-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-env
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in JPhys Energy, 1, April, 2023, 5(2). ISSN: 2515-7655

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