Why Is Electrical and Electronics Sector Adopting Recycled Li-Ion Battery in Large Amounts?

Recycling of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries has become important due to the limited availability of raw materials. Scarcity of lithium coupled with the adverse environmental impact associated with the mining of lithium has increased the requirement for recycling activities. Mining of lithium leads to water pollution, owing to the discharge of toxic chemicals into the water supply. Moreover, there is no substitute for this metal that can provide similar characteristics as lithium.

Recycling units are expected to observe a largescale influx of lithium-based storage devices, on account of rising penetration of laptops, tablets, and phones. Moreover, the adoption of Li-ion batteries is surging, due to the expansion of the electrical and electronics sector in emerging economies of Asia-Pacific (APAC) like India, South Korea, China, and Thailand. Thus, the growth of the electrical and electronics industry will accelerate the lithium-ion battery recycling market at a CAGR of 18.3% during 2020–2030. According to P&S Intelligence, the market stood at $165.3 million in 2019.

In the coming years, lithium–cobalt oxide (LCO) batteries will be recycled in the largest quantity, due to the increasing adoption of consumer electronics like tablets, mobile phones, and laptops. These electronics use LCO batteries, due to its advantageous properties like long life, high-energy density, and high-voltage discharge. Additionally, recycling plants also recycle lithium from other lithium-based storage devices like lithium–iron–phosphate (LFP), lithium–iron–manganese–oxide (LMO), lithium–nickel–cobalt–aluminum–oxide (NCA), and lithium–nickel–manganese–cobalt–oxide (NMC) batteries.

Geographically, the APAC region held the topmost position in the lithium-ion battery recycling market and it is expected to do so in the coming years as well. This can be credited to the amplifying demand for EVs in Indonesia, the Philippines, China, and Vietnam. The region is also home to some of the leading recyclers of the world, which results in easy availability of salvaged materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese. Moreover, the expansion of the electrical and electronics sector will also mushroom the recycling activities in the region.

Thus, the soaring demand for EVs and consumer electronics will accelerate the market growth in the near future.

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