The critical role of battery recycling in sustaining electronics and EV growth

While electronics and EV growth is a boon, it also underscores the need for sustainable growth and practices. Battery recycling is a key component of this sustainability, with environmental, economic and social benefits.

October 24, 2024 Manikumar Uppala, co-founder and chief of process engineering, Metastable Materials

Manikumar Uppala, co-founder and chief of process engineering, Metastable Materials

Metastable Materials

With the increasing sales of electronics and EVs, new challenges like battery usage and disposal arise. Sustainable growth of electronics and electric vehicles becomes crucial and battery recycling plays a huge role in this context.

Batteries, which power smartphones as well as the recently popular EVs, are a large and dangerous component of e-waste. Improper disposal of batteries can lead to fire and seepage of harmful chemicals in soil and have catastrophic impacts on human health and ecology. Battery production process, on the other hand, has a huge carbon footprint. It is energy-intensive and reliant on mining. Recycling batteries can address both these issues and make EVs truly sustainable.

Conserving critical resources

Batteries contain critical materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel. These materials are finite and their extraction has significant social impact, along with the environment. Mining and processing is also a longer process and hence expensive as well as energy intensive.

Battery recycling allows for the recovery of these valuable materials in a sustainable and eco-friendly way, compared to mining.

Rapid EV growth has put immense pressure on the supply of raw materials. Considering the well-known social issues in the materials’ supply chain, especially cobalt, moving to an ethical way of sourcing and supplying these raw materials can support the sustainable growth of the EV industry.

Economic benefits

Along with curbing environmental impact and conserving critical resources, battery recycling also has several economic benefits. From cost savings to job creation, recycling presents a compelling case for businesses and governments. Recycling can be more cost-effective than extracting and processing new raw materials. It leads to reduced battery production costs and thus more affordable EVs and electronics.

The global battery recycling industry, while still nascent, has the potential to create numerous jobs as it is slated to grow to $58.8 billion by 2030. As demand increases, so does the need for skilled workers in this sector.

Battery recycling promotes a circular economy as materials are reused and manufacturing practices become sustainable.

As eCommerce continues to grow, integrating sustainable practices like recycling (including battery recycling) is essential. Governments, businesses and consumers all must play a role in adopting such practices. Policymakers can support recycling through legislation and incentives. Companies in the electronics and EV sectors can incorporate recycling into their business model. Traders and manufacturers can also begin sourcing and using recycled materials.

Recycling must be made convenient and accessible so that consumers are encouraged to adopt these practices more proactively. This will also enhance a brand’s reputation and customer loyalty, along with meeting regulatory requirements.

In conclusion, while electronics and EV growth is a boon, it also underscores the need for sustainable growth and practices. Battery recycling is a key component of this sustainability, with environmental, economic and social benefits.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.