The battery market is growing rapidly which calls for sustainable end-of-life solutions!
Second use and the recycling of batteries are key contributors to a circular battery economy which significantly reduces the environmental footprint of batteries also. Additionally, todays and upcoming regulations require a more sustainable handling of used and waste batteries.
Second-life applications, such as in stationary storage systems, and recycling are the two main options for dealing with a battery at the end of its first life cycle to secure the best use of the high content of critical and valuable raw materials in batteries. In this publication Wolfgang Bernhart, Hasmeet Kaur, Tim Hotz and Sebastian Koper assess the Status Quo, look at possible future developments for each option and discuss recovery rates, technologies as well as the challenges involved.