As electromobility advances, the demand for battery recycling plants is increasing. This sector is just emerging, but in a few years the number of spent cells will dramatically increase. Although 99 percent of these batteries can be recycled, and the recovered materials play a critical role in the economy, experts believe that government support is required. Low public awareness and subsequent dislike for the construction of such facilities near residential areas are key issues. Experts discussed the need for such investments at the New Mobility Congress in Lodz.
“We are entering the stage of lithium-ion battery development, and in a few years we will make a total shift to electromobility, that is, the ban on introducing combustion cars, so the challenge will be the huge number of batteries from electric cars. The establishment of facilities is fraught with the difficulty that this is waste management, so we need government and local government support to facilitate such decisions. This is a challenge for the recycling market” – emphasized in an interview Robert Makieła, president of Capital Group Wastes Service during the New Mobility Congress in Lodz.
The issue primarily lies in the public’s perception of the establishment of recycling facilities near residential areas. Experts regard this as a significant psychological barrier, meanwhile there is a lack of education about processing used equipment, like batteries. Recycling allows us to obtain valuable raw materials, such as nickel, cobalt, or lithium which are classified as critical raw materials. They hold high importance in the European economy and a high risk related to their supply. Lithium-ion battery recycling plants are just being developed.
“We’re talking about a scale that will soon be upon us. It will be several hundred times larger, and in a few years, it will be so large that securing it by building recycling plants will become a necessity. Their number will be determined by the development of the production of electric cars” – explains Robert Makieła.
As the expert assures, the battery recycling process is safe. 99 percent of raw materials are recovered, so there are no fears of illegal dumping of hazardous waste. The growth of this sector will lead to the creation of new jobs.
“This also means taxes and attracting foreign business to invest in Poland. Rapid growth in the construction of recycling plants will enable more dynamic economic development in the automotive sector, new investments, create numerous jobs, suppliers or increase the dynamics of enterprise development” – enumerates the president of the Capital Group Wastes Service.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), sales of electric vehicles doubled in 2021 compared to the previous year, reaching a record 6.6 million. For comparison, in 2011 it was 55,000 cars. Increased demand for zero- and low-emission vehicles is also being seen in Europe. In 2022, the share of BEV and PHEV reached almost 23% on the Old Continent, which translates into almost 2.6 million units.
The growing demand for electric vehicles translates into an increase in demand for lithium-ion batteries. According to BloombergNEF forecasts, by 2027, the production of lithium-ion batteries will increase globally eightfold, reaching nearly 9,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh).
“We started the value chain of the lithium-ion battery industry in Europe in 2018 almost from scratch. Currently, in all branches of the sector, from raw material extraction to recycling, we produce more than 300 GWh of energy in domestic production. The goal for 2030 is to reach 1,000 gigawatt-hours. We have achieved a lot, but there is still a lot to be done” – says Diego Pavia, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy.
According to the expert, the challenges that the European market will have to face in the coming years relate to three areas. These are raw material shortages, staff shortages, and automation, which will enable production scaling.
“40% of battery costs are raw materials: copper, nickel, manganese, cobalt or lithium. We don’t have them in Europe, so we have to produce or extract them in Europe or import. Secondly, there are shortages of appropriate skills. To produce 1,000 gigawatt-hours, approximately 2.5 million workers within the value chain are needed. Currently, we are far from this goal. This is another gap that we need to fill. The third concern is industrial automation. China currently leads us by four years in terms of industrial automation, which allows for greater profitability than in Europe. So development is needed in this respect” – lists Diego Pavia.
The production of lithium-ion batteries and consequently their recycling will be crucial for the energy transition. The fundamental aspect is the abandonment of combustion cars. The issue of energy storage is also of great importance. Given that renewable energy production is intermittent, it is necessary to ensure energy reserves in distributed networks. For this purpose, batteries can be used.
