Evaluating environmental impacts of different hydrometallurgical recycling technologies of the retired nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries from electric vehicles in China

With the large-scale application of electric vehicles, the environmentally-friendly recycling of retired lithium-ion batteries is becoming a severe issue. Here, the process-based life cycle model is established to evaluate the environmental impacts of different hydrometallurgical routes, and the environmental potential of battery remanufacturing is investigated. Results suggest: (1) The environmental burden during recycling is contributed by high consumption of electricity and auxiliary materials, the difference of carbon footprint (CF) and cumu-lative energy demand (CED) for different recycling routes can reach 60.3% and 64.2%, respectively. (2) The CF and CED of the nickel-manganese-cobalt (NCM) batteries remanufactured with recycled materials are 34.1% and 17.5% less than those manufactured with raw materials, respectively. (3) The CF of battery remanufacturing with recycled materials can be significantly reduced in provinces with high-proportion of renewable energy in elec-tricity in China. Under China's electricity structure in 2050, the CF of NCM manufacturing with recycled ma-terials can be reduced by 38.8%.

Automated summary

With the increasing usage of electric vehicles, the environmental recycling of retired lithium-ion batteries has become a pressing issue. A process-based life cycle model was established to assess the environmental impacts of different recycling routes and investigate the potential of battery remanufacturing. The results indicate that the environmental burden during recycling is mainly caused by high electricity consumption and auxiliary materials, and using recycled materials for battery remanufacturing can significantly reduce the carbon footprint and cumulative energy demand.