The global deployment of lithium-ion batteries has increased rapidly and has been witnessed in a wide variety of products – from smaller electrical and electronic devices to large energy storage device and automotive vehicles. The lithium-ion battery industry is evolving at an enormous rate with the entrance of new players and new technologies. Huge investments, along with intensive R&D efforts, are currently being made by various companies to enhance the energy storage capacity of the lithium-ion battery. The proliferation of electric vehicles is expected to act as a catalyst for increasing the production for batteries in order to suffice the rising battery demand.

Read Report Overview: Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Market

The Global Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Market is at a very niche level when compared with the other batteries such as lead acid batteries. The government enforcement and market-based incentives for simplifying the designing process of the battery to facilitate easy disassembling are anticipated to play a key role in recycling industry. A sound infrastructure to promote collection of dead batteries and innovate technologies for executing the entire recycling process on a large scale are two essential factors that could escalate the recycling rates of lithium-ion batteries.

The recycling of lithium-ion batteries requires supportive regulations and government enforced laws to ensure smooth collection and recycling of the waste batteries.  Recycling of the batteries would help in reducing the overall emission and energy consumption related to mining of fresh raw materials. In fact, adequate supply of recovered raw materials would help in alleviating the material scarcity and thereby minimize the market price.

This research study aims at laying a strong emphasis on battery recycling and provides an overview of the present consumption of battery recycling along with its future predictions. This study further offers a detailed analysis of the existing recycling technologies and the underlying economic and technical challenges that impend their growth in the recycling industry. Recycling provides a sustainable option to obviate the dependency on imports for the raw materials and to have an internal supply of materials for consumption.

Hydrometallurgy Dominating the Global Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Market (by Technology Type)

The major technologies that have been identified in the recycling of lithium-ion batteries I the research study are hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, and direct recycling. Various research and development projects are being undertaken for the advancement of lithium-ion battery recycling technologies. The hydrometallurgical process is widely being used in China, whereby the batteries are treated with an aqueous solution. This helps in easy separation of dissolved metals in a battery. Although the technology produces wastewater, it helps in recovering most of the materials and non-metallic components present in the battery. This process is less energy-intensive and environment-friendly, as compared with pyrometallurgical process, and hence is being widely adopted in the recycling industry.

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Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO) Expected to Dominate the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Market (by Chemistry)

The LCO chemistry is expected to be the largest segment throughout the forecast period 2019-2025. The growth is majorly because the end product available from this chemistry after recycling is lithium and cobalt. These are expensive materials, and the current focus of recyclers is toward extracting expensive and rare raw materials via recycling. Besides, the LCO chemistry has high specific energy, which makes it an attractive cathode chemistry for lithium-ion batteries used in mobile phones, laptops, and digital cameras. LCO is most widely used in lithium-ion batteries in consumer electronics, owing to its high capacity and superior performance. LCO cathode materials are also used in high-end mobile terminals as they offer high performance and high capacity. LCO has low heat stability and thermal resistance as compared to other cathode materials.

China Foreseen to Witness the Largest Consumption of Recycling in the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Market

The demand for lithium-ion battery recycling varies according to various geographical regions and the market holds a prominent share in various countries of APJ, North America, and Europe. The succeeding info graph showcases the current market of different region along with their potential consumption of recycling in 2018.The concerted efforts by both the government and the manufacturing sector in promoting the usage of lithium-ion batteries have played a pivotal role in making this region the frontrunner in the field of lithium-ion battery recycling market. In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea has the highest contribution in the market, followed by Japan. Technological advancements, extensive investments for dedicated R&D facilities, and development of gigafactories of lithium-ion batteries are some of the major drivers that are propelling the growth of recycling market in the region.

Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape of the lithium-ion battery recycling market consists of different strategies undertaken by major players across the entire value chain to gain market presence. Some of the strategies adopted by lithium-ion battery recyclers are business expansion, mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and collaborations. Among all the strategies adopted, business expansion dominated the competitive landscape. GEM Co., Ltd, Glencore plc, SungEel HiTech Co. Ltd. And Umicore N.V./S.A. are some of the leading players in the global lithium-ion battery recycling market.