Cathode Materials of Electric Vehicle Batteries: Reuse and Recycle

Abstract

Electrical storage devices have always been a part of the e-waste stream. The great shift in transportation technology to electric vehicles portends billions of their spent batteries added to that stream. F ́ ocusing on North America and China, this paper reviews the consequences of a higher new demand for the batteries’ cathode materials, principally cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), and lithium (Li), and how, as e-waste, they fit into a circular economy of primary materials. Both environmental and long-term supply chain concerns make reuse and recycling of cathode materials desirable. For Co and Ni, profitability itself incentivizes this; policy initiatives are needed for Li. Inevitably, Li-ion batteries, though hazardous, are found in the informal sector of e-waste handling.