Posted on 25 Dec 2024
Battery recycling could meet 25% of lithium and nickel demand, and 40% of cobalt demand in 2050, estimates the International Energy Agency (IEA).
This is expected to relieve pressure on the battery materials supply chain, although large investments for new mines will still be needed to meet growing demand and compensate for declines from older mines.
Recycling will be “critical” to recover materials from manufacturing scrap in the short term, with a focus on end-of-life batteries after 2035.
If recycling is scaled effectively, it will meet national climate targets, Kallanish understands. This will require scaling up recycling facilities and increasing collection rates of end-of-life batteries.
Reducing battery-related emissions in EVs is “important,” the IEA argues, even though they are not the largest contributor to a vehicle’s total carbon footprint.
From a life cycle perspective, a medium-size BEV car generates half of the emissions of an equivalent ICE car as a global average. This varies by region, based on the local grid emissions intensity, average annual driving distance, and fuel economy of ICE vehicles.
For example, in the UK and Chile, BEV life cycle emissions are 60% lower than ICE equivalents, while in China the figure is 40%, the IEA estimates.
“Strengthening international co-operation is central to support international trade of second-hand EVs while ensuring adequate end-of-life strategies for the vehicles and their batteries,” the agency concludes.
Source:Kallanish
