Financial viability of electric vehicle lithium-ion battery recycling

Laura Lander; Tom Cleaver; Mohammad Ali Rajaeifar; Viet Nguyen-Tien; Robert J.R. Elliott; Oliver Heidrich; Emma Kendrick; Jacqueline Sophie Edge; Gregory Offer

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.102787

Financial viability of electric vehicle lithium-ion battery recycling

Laura Lander, Tom Cleaver, Mohammad Ali Rajaeifar, Viet Nguyen-Tien, Robert J.R. Elliott, Oliver Heidrich, Emma Kendrick, Jacqueline Sophie Edge, Gregory Offer^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Economically viable electric vehicle lithium-ion battery recycling is increasingly needed; however routes to profitability are still unclear. We present a comprehensive, holistic techno-economic model as a framework to directly compare recycling locations and processes, providing a key tool for recycling cost optimization in an international battery recycling economy. We show that recycling can be economically viable, with cost/profit ranging from (−21.43 - +21.91) $·kWh⁻¹ but strongly depends on transport distances, wages, pack design and recycling method. Comparing commercial battery packs, the Tesla Model S emerges as the most profitable, having low disassembly costs and high revenues for its cobalt. In-country recycling is suggested, to lower emissions and transportation costs and secure the materials supply chain. Our model thus enables identification of strategies for recycling profitability.

Original language	English
Article number	102787
Number of pages	14
Journal	iScience
Volume	24
Issue number	7
Early online date	25 Jun 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102787
Publication status	Published - 23 Jul 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was carried out with funding from the Faraday Institution (faraday.ac.uk; EP/S003053/1 ). L.L. would like to thank the Faraday Institution for their support through the “Multi-scale Modeling (MSM)” project (Grant No. FIRG003 ). R.J.R.E. and V.N.-T. would like to thank the support of UK EPSRC /Faraday Institution through the research project “Recycling of Lithium-ion Batteries (ReLIB)” (Grant No. FIRG005 ).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors

Keywords

electrochemical energy storage
energy application
energy policy
energy resources
energy systems

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Cite this

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abstract = "Economically viable electric vehicle lithium-ion battery recycling is increasingly needed; however routes to profitability are still unclear. We present a comprehensive, holistic techno-economic model as a framework to directly compare recycling locations and processes, providing a key tool for recycling cost optimization in an international battery recycling economy. We show that recycling can be economically viable, with cost/profit ranging from (−21.43 - +21.91) $·kWh−1 but strongly depends on transport distances, wages, pack design and recycling method. Comparing commercial battery packs, the Tesla Model S emerges as the most profitable, having low disassembly costs and high revenues for its cobalt. In-country recycling is suggested, to lower emissions and transportation costs and secure the materials supply chain. Our model thus enables identification of strategies for recycling profitability.",

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Financial viability of electric vehicle lithium-ion battery recycling

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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Cite this