Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

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Materials Today: Proceedings

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr

Battery recycling opportunity and challenges in India

Shashi Kala a,⇑, A. Mishra b
a
Vinod Gupta School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India
b
Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Prayagraj, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: According to the United Nation (UN), India is the second-most populous country with 1.37 billion popu-
Received in revised form 27 January 2020 lation in 2019, and is expected to add 273 million people by 2050. Reducing CO2 emission and meeting
Accepted 23 January 2021 the energy requirement for such a large population, will be the major challenges for India’s sustainable
Available online xxxx
development. This has given a spur to Electric Vehicle (EV) and renewable energy sector. Battery as
energy storage systems can help in improving operational and energy evacuation issues associated with
Keywords: renewable energy. Government of India has the aspiration of 100% EV mobility by 2030 and its EV battery
Lithium Ion battery
market is expected to grow by $300 billion during 2017–2030. However, batteries are associated with
Lead battery
Recycling
many issues such as its disposal as municipal solid toxic waste after its useful life. Proper utilization of
Electric vehicle waste batteries have two fold benefits, as these wastes are capable of creating a million-dollar economic
Battery market opportunity as well as jobs for a country by efficient recycling of such wastes. According to a research by
Recycling technology the JMK Research &Analytics, market of Lithium ion battery will grow at a Compound Annual Growth
Rate (CAGR) of 35.5% during 2018–2030 to reach 132 GWh, which shows the scope of battery recycling
market as well. As per the JMK Research &Analytics report, the battery recycling market is estimated to be
approximately $1000 million by 2030.
The battery waste generation and environmental issues may negatively affect India’s target to become
100% EV country. In this regard, the present work targets to map the various battery recycling opportu-
nities in India and challenges associated with its recycling. Further, the case studies of the battery recy-
cling business and regulations, policies of other countries on battery recycling process are discussed.
Additionally, two case studies are presented as the solutions to the challenges in the battery recycling.
Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Management and Recy-
cling of Metallurgical Wastes-2020.

1. Introduction portation sector, EVs are also dependent on energy storage system.
Energy storage market estimated at 12 GWh in 2018 and expected
World economy is moving towards efficient and sustainable to grow thirteen times in next six year to reach 158 GWh by 2024
energy sources, which can contribute to mitigate the catastrophic [1].Battery storage market is gaining importance due to its wide
effect of climate change. To mitigate the effect of climate change range of application from renewable energy sector to consumer
and decarbonizes the economy, renewable energy and electric electronics. Battery storage cost reached to$156/kWh in 2019com-
vehicle are the focus around the world. Recent research and devel- pared to $ 1000/kWh in 2010 [2] and it is gradually becoming eco-
opment have significantly decreased the cost of technology nomical for many commercial uses. Technology cost of battery
required for the generation of renewable energy but the major storage is dropping, owing to the developments in renewable
issue with the renewable energy such as wind and solar, is their energy sector and the scaling up of Electric Vehicle (EV) program.
intermittent nature. One of the most viable solutions for the reli- In 2017, one million electric vehicles were sold globally, and it is
able and continuous supply of energy is efficient energy storage estimated that, those sold units will discard 250,000 tonnes [3]
system. As a key component for decreasing emission from trans- of battery packs. If these used battery packs are piled up in land-
fills, it will be hazardous for both the environment and the human
being because of the presence of toxic elements in the batteries.
⇑ Corresponding author.
Bloomberg presented an optimistic estimate that, by 2040, 548
E-mail addresses: hashi.elec@gmail.com, agrawalshashi84@kgpian.iitkgp.ac.in
(S. Kala), amishra@mnnit.ac.in (A. Mishra).
million [4] EVs will be on the road. Government of India aspires

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.01.927
2214-7853/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Management and Recycling of Metallurgical Wastes-2020.

Please cite this article as: S. Kala and A. Mishra, Battery recycling opportunity and challenges in India, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.matpr.2021.01.927
S. Kala and A. Mishra Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

to become 100% EV nation by 2030 but after reviewing the feasibil- 2.2. Battery recycling technology
ity of the ambitious target, the government lowered its target to
30% in February 2018 [5]. The risk of stock of used batteries can Current recycling technology is based on lead and lithium-ion
also be imagined once the retirement age of such batteries are batteries that recover valuable material from spent batteries. Lead
reached. Also, there will be shortage of materials that are used in acid battery is matured enough and technology of recycling to lead
battery manufacturing. This is because metal resources are limited acid battery is simple. Today 50% of lead supply comes from recy-
but the demand will be huge. It is well known that electrifying cled lead acid batteries [8]. Lead acid batteries lead the way to
transportation and deploying renewable energy, reduction in fossil recycle advanced Li-ion based batteries, but the recovery of Li
fuel consumptions, are keys to reduce the heating of planet and to and other precious and important materials are not that easy
reduce the emission of harmful gases into atmosphere. In this because of different structure and properties of metal present in
regard, batteries as one of the immediate solutions, come with the battery. Since the advent of advanced batteries, Industries wide
other environmental challenges. It raises a question that how these two recycling technologies are largely being used, one is pyromet-
batteries will be used, once they are off the road and not suitable allurgy and other hydrometallurgy and few industries are combin-
for energy storage in renewable sector. Certainly, piling up these ing both pyro and hydro technology for process to become more
stocks in the landfills is not the solution. Therefore, the appropriate efficient [9].
option is to adopt a route of recycling and second use of these bat-
teries. Recycling of batteries not only helps in avoiding landfill but 2.2.1. Lead-acid battery recycling
also, contribute to the sustainability and circular economy by put- Recycling of lead-acid batteries starts with breaking, crushing
ting raw material back in use and using material to its maximum and physical separation into plastic, polypropylene (C3H6)n, sul-
life cycle. Recycling demand for batteries are triggering many pol- phuric acid (H2SO4), lead oxide(PbO) and lead oxide/sulphate paste
icy makers to look in the prospects of it and come up with suitable [10]. Lead acid-battery recycling market matured and conventional
policies considering important factors as shown in Fig. 1. pyrometallurgical process are used to recycle it as represented in
the Fig. 3 [11]. During the smelting process fly ash generated from
furnace, is a hazardous waste that composed of Copper (Cu), Cad-
mium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), Lead (Pb) and Zinc (Zn) [12]. If these bat-
2. Battery demand and recycling technology tery waste are not treated prudentially it poses significant
environmental risk.
2.1. Battery demand
2.2.2. Li-ion battery recycling
Battery has become indispensable part of our daily life and its Pyrometallurgy process of Li-ion battery (LIB) recycling:
demand is further skyrocketing with the increased demand of Pyrometallurgy is a thermal process, which involves separation
energy. Primary batteries are disposable batteries, which can be of material through heating. The heating initiates thermal reaction
frequently seen in the toys, televisions or remotes of air condition- and transform the material. The extent of degree of recovery of
ers. Secondary batteries are rechargeable type of batteries and are material depends on metal sustainability to heat. High tempera-
commercially being used since last many years. Various secondary ture can cause burning of metal leading to produces high amount
battery technologies are evolved until now but lithium-ion battery of slag and gases. This process has environmental cost due to
storage is most widely used and contributes to approximately 88% high-energy consumption and emission of harmful gases like
[6] of new installed capacity in 2016 as represented in Fig. 2. CO2, dioxins and furans into atmosphere. Fig. 4 shows the
Allied research estimated that electric vehicle battery recycling pyrometallurgical process developed at Umicore (Belgium). In
market valued, $ 138.6 million in 2017 and it is expected to grow pre-heating zone, the furnace temperature is maintained below
to $2272.3 million by 2025 [7]. 300 °C, which is required to heat electrolyte. Middle zone is pyro-
lysing zone and temperature of this zone is around 700 °C. In this
zone exothermic reaction takes place and plastic is removed and
re-mining material is smelted in reduction zone where tempera-
ture is maintained around 1200–1450 °C [13,14]. This process
recovers nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) in the
form of alloy and aluminium (Al), lithium (Li), Silicon (Si), calcium
(Ca)and magnesium (Mg) are lost in the form of slag [13,14].
Hydrometallurgical process of LIB recycling: Hydrometallurgy
is the process that is used to recover the valuable material from
aqueous solution. Pre-treatment of spent batteries like sorting, dis-
charging, disassembling is done before crushing them and other
important steps like leaching, purification and separation/precipi-
tation are performed thereafter (Fig. 5) [15]. The leaching process
is inevitable for the overall recycling process. Optimum leaching
conditions are required for recycling, which is achieved through
adequate leaching time, temperature, acid concentration and using
some suitable additives. The metals are extracted from the raw
material, which is further dissolved in the leaching solution.
In purification step, the process of hydroxide precipitation
removes copper and aluminium. At some appropriate temperature
and reaction time, the equilibrium can be completely reached. The
hydroxides of copper and aluminium can grow and aggregate to a
sufficient size. Subsequently, the solution can be filtered and the
residual is supplied to the copper and aluminium production.
Fig. 1. Factors affecting recycling. When the copper and aluminium are precipitated together, it can
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S. Kala and A. Mishra Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 2. Percentage Mix of battery Technology.

Fig. 3. Lead-acid battery recycling flow chart.

Fig. 5. Hydrometallurgical process: LIB recycling.

patented its process for recovery of material from aqueous solution

[16]. Hydrometallurgical process is more efficient compared to
pyrometallurgical technique where lithium was lost in the slag.
Pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy are two major processes,
which are currently used at commercial scale and their advance-
ment is taking places by combining both the process together.
EV battery recycling technology is still on evolving stage and
the efficient recovery of various precious metals is under research.
Research published by National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL) estimated global capacity of battery recycling in Europe,
North America and Asia as in2016. According to the research,
North America’s recycling capacity estimated 14,500 tonnes per
year, European recycling capacity estimated as 45,810 tonnes/year
and Asia’s recycling capacity estimated as 29750–46150 tonnes/
year. [17]. Few majors globally active battery recycling companies,
Fig. 4. Pyrometallurgical process; Lithium-ion battery recycling. their recycling process and pros and cons of the recycling methods
are shown in Table 1 and 2 respectively.

be removed from the solution separately in future. Nickel, cobalt

and manganese are removed usinghydroxide or sulphide precipita-
3. Opportunity related to recycling in India
tion methods from lithium. In last precipitation process, lithium
ions are recovered from lithium carbonate by adding saturated
3.1. Raw material availability and reduced dependency on import
soda solution.
In industries, the hydrometallurgical technique is used in many
EV technology is getting stimulus with decreasing raw material
companies such as: Recuply Hydrometallurgical Process, which has
prices, which leads to the reduction in the cost of batteries. Com-
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S. Kala and A. Mishra Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 1
Recycling process world-wide.

Region Company Process Feature Location

North America AERC Pyrometallurgy USA
On To Technology Hydrometallurgy USA
Retrieve Technologies Pyrometallurgy Unique liquid N2 protection in the crusher Canada, USA
Hydrometallurgy
Europe Accurec Recycling GmbH Pyrometallurgy; New hybrid Process Vacuum thermal recycling Germany
Batrec AG Pyrometallurgy Crushing under CO2 atmosphere Switzerland
DK Recycling and Roheisen GmbH Pyrometallurgy Germany
Euro Dieuze Industries Hydrometallurgy France
SNAM Pyrometallurgy Pyrolysis-distillation-refining France
Recuply Hydrometallurgy Crushing under inert gas atmosphere France
Umicore Pyrometallurgy UHT technology; closed loop Belgium
Hydrometallurgy
Valdi Pyrometallurgy France
Asia Dowa Eco-System Co. Ltd Pyrometallurgy Japan
Hydrometallurgy
Hunan Brunp Recycling Technology Co. Ltd Hydrometallurgy Reverse product position design China
GEM Co. Pyrometallurgy Hydrometallurgy Closed loop China

Table 2
Pros and Cons of recycling methods.

Recycling Material recovery Pros Cons Present Reference

method application
Hydrometallurgy Copper, Aluminum, Applicable to any Chemistry and configuration Shenzhen [18,19]
Cobalt, Li2CO3. battery Only economical for batteriescontaining Co and Ni (a)Long process Green
Anode is destroyed and High chemical reagents consumption. Eco-
chemistry and manufacturer
configuration Hi-Tech Co.
(China);
Retriev
Technologies
(Canada);
Recupyl
S.A. (France)
Pyrometallurgy Cobalt,Nickel, Copper Applicable to any Only economical for batteriescontaining Co and Ni; Gas clean-up Umicore [18,19]
(smelting) andsome Iron.Anode batterychemistry and required to avoid release of toxic substances.b-Hightemperature, (Belgium); JX
is destroyed. configuration High energy consumption, low metal recovery Nippon
Not suitable for Li-ion batteries as Li is lost in slag Mining and
Metals (Japan
Bio-metallurgy High metal recovery Long reaction period, difficult to cultivate bacteria
rate, Low energy
consumption
Combined Suitable for Li- Full energy recovery, Umicore Umicore
Pyro + Hydro ion + NiMH Robust process,

mercial manufacturing of EV batteries will require metals as Ni, Co,

Al, Cu, Fe and Mn. Current battery technology is based on lithium,
but technology is shifting towards Ni and Co based batteries in
future. According to the Mckinesy analysis research, Ni and Co Table 3
metal are not in surplus as per projected demand by 2025.Table 3 Demand and supply (in 2025) of three important materials i.e. Nickel, Lithium and
represents demand supply gap of few important metals used in LIB. Cobalt.
projected demand of Ni is 1460 KT (Kilo Tonnes) and supply
Field of demand Demand Supply outlook Shortage
requirement is 1240 KT and there is projected shortage of 220 (KT) (KT) (surplus) KT
KT. Similarly, in case of Co projected demand is 210 KT and supply
Nickel
estimated is 170–214 KT and shortage projected is approx. 30–40 Battery demand 570 1240 220
KT [20]. Non stainless steel 510
From the above table it is clear that nickel and cobalt supply Stainless steel 380
Total 1460 1240 220
may shortfall for its use in batteries and commercial recycling
Cobalt
of important metal can provide security against the availability Battery demand 140 170–214 30–40
of raw material for battery manufacturing and reduces the bur- Super alloys 25
den of import. According to Indian Mineral Book 2018, India’s Cement tools and hand 16
Ni and Co consumptions are import dependent as India does material
Others 29
not produce Ni and Co through primary source. However, if recy-
Total 210 170–214 30–40
cling takes place in India, it would definitely hedge Indian man- Lithium
ufacturing from future raw material shortage for battery Battery demand 498 1321 689
manufacturing Glass and ceramic 65
Industrial 69
Total 632 1321 689

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S. Kala and A. Mishra Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

 Import scenario of Nickel (Ni) in India Table 5

Cobalt Import (in Tonnes) from FY 15–16 to FY17-18.

Nickel is mainly utilized in steel production along with the other Cobalt (in Tonnes) 2015– 2016– 2017–18
alloying combination. It has high resistance to corrosion and gives 16 17 (P)
excellent toughness and strength at high temperature. Nickel is not Imports of Cobalt Ores & Concentration 25 – –
produced through primary source in India and demand is met by Imports of Cobalt & Alloys (Including Waste 813 902 875
imports. The future outlook of Ni metal is promising as it is being uti- & Scrap)
Imports of Cobalt Powder 205 248 272
lized in Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminium (NCA) and Nickel-Cobalt- Imports of Cobalt (Other Articles) 324 241 270
Manganese (NCM) ternary material for battery production. Once Imports of Cobalt (Unwrought) 284 413 333
the demand of electric vehicle is high, demand for Ni will increase Total 1651 1804 1750
dramatically. Table 4, represents India’s Nickel import data for last
three year. India imported 53,262 tonnes of Ni in 2016–17, which
was 17% decline from last year but in 2017–18, import increased
by 17% compared to 2016–17 [21]. Present consumption of Ni is
low and would increase consumption to many times if battery man-
ufacturing starts at commercial level

 Import scenario of cobalt in India

Cobalt is an important ferromagnetic metal and usually alloyed

with copper, nickel and zinc. Major application of cobalt is in alloying
and recent demand for cobalt is increased with evolution of Li-ion
batteries. It was initially used in Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) and Nickel
Metal Hydride (NiMH) cells and this technology increased demand
for cobalt in the rechargeable battery sector. As per the Indian Min-
eral Book 2018, In India, there is no primary production of cobalt and
demand for cobalt is met by import. Table 5 represents India’s cobalt
import data across different cobalt combinations. India imported
total 1804 tonnes of cobalt across five categories and increased Fig. 6. Ni reserve worldwide as on 2018.
import to 9.3% but again in 2017–18 import declined by 3.0% [21].
Cobalt reserves are very limited and increased cobalt consumption
in India leads to increase import of Cobalt metal. If these materials
are procured domestically through recycling it would be cost effec-
tive for battery manufacturers in India.

3.2. Resource conservation through controlled the mining activities

India does not have reserve of key metals required for the LIB
manufacturing. Nickel (Ni), Cobalt (Co), Zinc (Zn), Magnesium
(Mg), Lithium (Li) are few important metals required for battery
manufacturing and India will require to import these metals once
the production of EV batteries revolutionized in India. Fig. 6 [22],
Fig. 7 [23], Fig. 8 [23], Fig. 9 [23] represents Ni, Li, Cu and Co reserve
worldwide and in top five countries. Major nickel reserves are pre-
sent in Australia, Indonesia, Brazil and Russia, which contribute to
21%, 24%, 12% and 9% respectively in 89 Million tonnes of nickel
reserve present worldwide in 2018 as shown in Fig [6]. Major Fig. 7. Li reserve worldwide as on 2018.
lithium reserves are present in Chile, Australia, Argentina and
China, which contributes to 50%, 17%, 13% and 6% respectively in recycling industry will certainly provide security for these scarce
16 Million tonnes of lithium reserve worldwide in 2018 as shown metals. Recycling is a step towards conservation of resource and
in Fig. 7. Major copper reserve are located in Australia, Chile, Peru closing the loop for circular economic model. As per the sugges-
and Russia which contributes to 11%, 20%, 10% and 7% respectively tions of NITI Ayog, India would need a policy to secure the raw
in 790 Million tonnes of copper reserve worldwide in 2018 as material used to manufacture LIB. Policy should be framed to focus
shown in Fig. 8. Major cobalt reserves are present in Congo, Aus- towards increasing the domestic availability of the raw material as
tralia and Cuba which contributes to 49%, 17% and 7% respectively priority, in addition to secure the strategic mining outside India as
in 6.9 Million tonnes of cobalt reserve as of 2018 as shown in Fig. 9. shown in Fig. 10 and Fig.11 [24].
Since, India does not have metal reserves therefore, the domestic

3.3. Environmental benefit of recycling

Table 4
Nickel Import from FY15-16 to FY 17–18.
Battery recycling is reuse of material waste and reducing the
Import (in Tonnes) 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 (P) number of batteries disposal to landfill that avoid harmful and
Nickel Ores & Conc. 3295 1062 – toxic material, which contaminate water and soil. Recycling also
Nickel and Alloys Including Scrap 71,080 49,539 62,259 contribute in conservation of energy by certain percentage of
Nickel Waste & Scrap 2010 2661 37 38 energy which is required in production of virgin raw material.
Total 76,385 53,262 62,259
Recycling avoid energy of three stages; mining, refining and
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S. Kala and A. Mishra Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

manufacturing and also greenhouse gas emission from these

stages. Many precious metals, which are found in the batteries,
are energy intensive when produced through primary sources as
shown in Table 6 [24] and contribute to CO2 emission. However,
when these scarce metals are produced through scarp or waste,
it save energy as well as reduce emission compared to the virgin
metal.

3.4. Large amount of electronic waste using Lithium-ion batteries

India is large consumer market for the electronic items and with
government efforts towards digitization it is expected to grow
exponentially, which require strategy to handle these electronic
wastes domestically. A broad estimate of quantity of lithium-
based batteries are illustrated in Table 7 for few major electronic
items utilized in India in 2018. The basis of this illustration is map-
ping of lithium-ion batteries (LIB)as a percentage of mass available
in electronic items. It is calculated that by consumption of elec-
Fig. 8. Cu reserve worldwide as on 2018. tronic waste (in 2018) in the categories of cell phone (featured
phones), smart phone, digital camera, EVs, laptops and tablets
would generate 43,866 tonnes of LIB for recycling. Once the EVs
fully capture Indian market, we can imagine the risk of piling up
stocks of spent batteries. However, this is a risk for India but
through suitable technology development and policy framing these
risks can be converted into opportunities.

4. Challenges for battery recycling

In regards to mitigate the effect of climate change, the countries

participating in the United Nations Framework Convention on Cli-
mate Change (UNFCCC) agreed on the target to hold the global
warming below 2 °C level above pre-industrial level. Additionally,
the target is to put in the best effort to limit the global temperature
increase below 1.5 °C have global net zero CO2 emissions around
2050.
Battery in association with other technologies is one of the
major tools towards achieving 1.5 °C goal in transport and power
sector. According to the world economic forum, batteries could
Fig. 9. Co reserve worldwide as on 2018. contribute to 30% reduction in carbon emission in transport and
power sector, if 600 million people have energy security and 10
million safe jobs are created [32]. It is further forecasted that need

Fig. 10. Lithium Hydroxide and Lithium Carbonate price variation from 2018 to 2019

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S. Kala and A. Mishra Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 11. Lithium Hydroxide and Lithium Carbonate price variation from 2018 to 2019

Table 6
Energy consumption in primary and secondary metal production.

Metal Primary ProductionEnergy Primary ProductionCarbon RecyclingEnergy Requirement RecyclingCarbon Footprint

Requirement(MJ/kg metal) Footprint(tCO2/t metal) (MJ/kg metal) (tCO2/t metal)
Nickel 20.64 2.12 1.86 0.22
Aluminium 47.00 3.83 24.00 0.29
Copper 16.90 1.25 6.30 0.44
(Pyrometallurgical
process)
Lead 10.00 1.63 0.1291 0.0152
Steel 14.00 1.67 19.20 0.70
Lithium NA3 NA NA NA
Cobalt NA NA NA NA
1
assuming 50% furnace efficiency
2
Based on electricity consumption (UK average emission factor)
3
Not available

Table 7
Large amount of electronic waste using Lithium-ion batteries.

India data Estimated life expectancy of Typical mass range of device LIB mass% in Device Approximate no of Total mass of LIB used
Device(lifespan) Mass(Kg)[25] mass%[25] unit sold (tonnes)
Cell Phone(Feature 4 0.11–0.22 13.3–15.0 184,800,000 [26] 4,401
Phone)
Digital camera 6.5 0.4–0.8 15–20 14,000,000 [27] 1,540
EV 9 1200–2500 15–30 56,000 [28] 26,040
Plug-in Hybrid 9 1200–2000 5–15 0
Vehicle
Laptop 5.5 1.35–2.80 13.4–16.7 9,300,000[29] 3,016
Smart phone 2.1 0.10–0.18 18–23 161,000,000[30] 4,782
Tablet 5.1 0.4–0.7 7.7–15.0 60,200,000 [31] 4,088
Total 43,866

for clean energy and transport,11 million tonnes of batteries will and industry wide research is in progress for recovering the mate-
be in the market by 2025 [33] and there are no plans to manage rial efficiently. In case of lithium, it was considered as white gold in
those spent batteries once it reaches to end of life cycle. Throwing 2017 as its price was $25000 per ton and by 2019 its price plum-
these toxic battery materials on landfills, which have environmen- meted to $10000 per ton, approximately 60% decrease in price
tal and economic cost, is certainly an unfavourable option. Grow- from 2017 [34]. Cobalt price also reached on peak in 2018 to
ing electric vehicle usage would be able to give real reduction in approx. 90,000$ per tonne and plummeted to $32,000 in 2019
CO2 emission only if the reduction is taken care at entire value [35]. The fall in the prices, raises the question about sustainability
chain of battery from mining to its end use. Major challenges per- of recycling business as large fluctuation in virgin raw material
taining to battery recycling are discussed as follows: cost have direct impact on recycling business. Battery manufac-
turer may not find secondary raw materials (recycled raw mate-
4.1. Fluctuation in raw material prices rial) to be cost effective compared to the virgin metal. This may
force recycler to go out of the business. Finding the sustainable
In battery manufacturing, raw material cost is one of the major recycling business model is today’s challenge. This is because recy-
economic factors that affect the cost of the batteries. Recycling is cling technologies require major investment towards developing
considered a crucial tool for decreasing economic and environmen- new technology and to increase research and development activi-
tal cost of battery. On the one hand, when decreasing raw material ties. Globally, several big automotive companies connect the sup-
prices of batteries are considered good for EV, on the other hand ply chain of EV batteries such as manufacturing, material
decreasing raw material prices poses risk for recycling business. procurement, collection and dismantling after useful life of vehicle
Cobalt and lithium are two important material presents in LIB to get the advantage of recycling through procurement of sec-

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S. Kala and A. Mishra Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

ondary raw material. In large companies, which are connected by The Indian market of lithium-ion batteries usend in consumer
EV value chain, fluctuation in raw material price will be offset at electronics and EVs, is in the growing phase. NITI Ayog targeted
entire value chain. In Indian scenario, the fluctuation in raw mate- the 30% share of EV on Indian road by 2030. This implies that
rial prices influences business model severely because the raw 211 million two wheelers, 34 million cars and 2.5 million buses
material procurement is import dependent and any decrease in will be on Indian road by 2030 [39]. We can imagine the conse-
prices impact adversely the recycling business of India. quences of battery waste and ecosystem hazards without imple-
mentation of strategy and policy for collection of these spent
4.2. Battery chemistry batteries. Material collection challenge is very high in Indian sce-
nario because collection of electronic waste is unorganized sector
Lead acid battery chemistry is simple compared to the chem- and society is not aware about benefits of recycling. If collaborative
istry of Lithium-ion batteries and being recycled at commercial efforts of industry, society and government are taken then ade-
level around the world as well as in India. Lithium based chemistry quate waste batteries will be collected for commercial recycling.
is still in evolving phase to improve energy density, efficiency and
safety and this pose several challenges to the recycler to precisely 4.4. Value of recovered metal
identify and recover material from different batteries. Table 8 rep-
resents mainly lithium based chemistries currently commer- Recycling efficiency is one of the important factors for the
cialised for various applications and active cathode material recovery of valuable raw material, which prominently affects the
composition ranges from 30% to 40% [36] in these batteries. Under- benefit over the cost of battery. As detailed in the Table 9 many
standing of complex battery technology is very challenging glob- metals found in batteries, which are recyclable without losing
ally, and understanding of battery chemistry in Indian scenario is intrinsic properties and apart from Lead other metal have recycling
even more challenging compared to global level. This is because, efficiency in the range of 50–68%, Lead batteries are 90% recyclable
at present, lithium batteries are not manufactured in India and due to its simple structure and battery chemistry. The value of
there is high dependency on the import of batteries. Once the bat- these metals has economic impact and depends on the efficient
tery recycling starts in India it would require technology collabora- recovery of these metals. The Nickel and Cobalt obtained from Lon-
tion with already existing worldwide technology to understand the don metal exchange are of high value among other material and
complexity of recycling and recovery of metal efficiently. have limited reserves worldwide. Nickel and Cobalt are currently
recyclable with 68% and 57% efficiency respectively. If these metals
4.3. Material collection are recovered with efficiency 90% or above then India will have
cost benefit in manufacturing and it is crucial for India, as these
Material collection is an issue with the battery recycling, as no metals are not produced in India.
battery can be recycled efficiently until they do not reach to the
recycling facility. Millions of electronics items after the end of life 4.5. Greenhouse gas emission due to recycling
are lying in homes as waste for many years or sold to scrap dealer.
Once the electric vehicle is on boom all over the world, battery col- Reduction in the Greenhouse gas emission from environment is
lection and its recycling will be an economic and environmental major goal of Paris Agreement and recycling is found to contribute
concern. A research was conducted in Oeko-Institute (research through energy saving required at primary stages like mining,
and consultancy organisation) to know unknown presence of transportation, and manufacturing of raw materials of batteries.
approximate number of vehicles, which was supposed to report Dunn et al., 2015 [40] analysed the effect of recycling on the differ-
under End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive in Europe [38]. The study ent raw material of Lithium-ion batteries compared to the virgin
reflected (Fig. 12) many gaps in present management and directory metal. It is examined that reduction in greenhouse gas emission
of vehicles. It is reflected that 4,660,000 vehicles are unknown, from pyrometallurgical process was 60–75%. Most of the previous
which represents approximately 40% of new registered and studies have shown overall impact of recycling in greenhouse gas
imported vehicle in 2013–14, 50% of vehicle was reported under reduction but when it is examined process wise from dismantling
ELV and 10% represented import. This is alarming for EV vehicles entire processing it would provide more clear understanding of
as it is necessary to know about battery electric vehicles (BEV) so greenhouse gas reduction. Swedish Environment and research
that the precise calculation about battery collection rate and recy- Institute conducted research on Life cycle assessment (LCA) of
cling rate can be measured. Battery collection and recycling rate LIB and recycling by hydrometallurgical process and estimated
will help in implementation of policy and scheme by Government. the CO2 emission at various phases (Table 10) [41]. The study

Table 8
Battery chemistry of different metal.

Cathode Material Chemistry Voltage [37] Active Cathode Specific energy (capacity) [37] Current
Material [36] applicationExample
LCO(Lithium Cobalt LiCoO2 3.60 V nominal; typical operating range 35.30% 150–200Wh/kg. Specialty cells Tesla Roadster, Smart
Oxide) 3.0–4.2 V/cell provide up to 240Wh/kg. Fortwo Electric Drive
NMC(Lithium Nickel LiNixCoxMnO2 3.60 V, 3.70 V nominal; typical operating 34.10% 150–220Wh/kg Chevrolet Bolt, Nissan
Manganese Cobalt) (NMC111) range 3.0–4.2 V/cell, or higher Leaf
LiNixCoxMnO2 31.80%
(NMC622)
LiNixCoxMnO2 31.10%
(NMC811)
LMO(Lithium LiMn2O4 3.70 V (3.80 V) nominal; typical 40.10% 100–150Wh/kg Chevrolet Volt, BMW i3
Manganese Oxide) operating range 3.0–4.2 V/cell
LFP LiFePO4 3.20, 3.30 V nominal; typical operating 32.20% 90–120Wh/kg Used in China because of
range 2.5–3.65 V/cell low cost
Lithium Nickel Cobalt LiNiCoAlO2 3.60 V nominal; typical operating range 30.40% 200-260Wh/kg; 300Wh/kg Tesla models
Aluminum Oxide 3.0–4.2 V/cell predictable

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S. Kala and A. Mishra Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 12. Effect of Vehicle collection rate on recycling potential in EU

Table 9 4.6. Infrastructure limitations

Value of Metal recovered.

Metal Value of metal Recycling The efficiency of batteries recycling depends on several factor
US $/Tonne (as on efficiency % like price of raw material, cost of recycling and collection rate
Dec 19) [35] but a feasible infrastructure is utmost necessary [42]. Inadequate
Nickel 13797.00 68 infrastructure may recycle metal, but it has other cost like environ-
Primary Aluminium 1770.07 60 mental and societal cost. Companies around the world who are
Zinc 2273.41
commercially recycling the metals are in consistent effort to
Lead 1898.68 90
Cobalt 33556.25 57 improve the infrastructure for sustainable development. Infras-
Lithium Carbonate 9250.00 55 tructure development is a challenging and significant costs are
Lithium Hydroxide 11250.00 55 involved therefore prior to its implementation; all the aspects of
Manganese (44% grade) 6.70 53 the infrastructure requirement should be studied. India currently
Copper 53
do not have adequate infrastructure and reverse logistic network
to handle the large number of future spent batteries. Inadequate
infrastructure and unavailability of standard scientific procedure
to handle these spent batteries will adversely affect the society
assumed that waste batteries are of type NCA, NMC and LFP and
and environment.
result on the assessment of greenhouse emission obtained is
In 2015, at Unimcore (Belgium), a multinational materials tech-
detailed in Table 10.
nology company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium infrastructure
The above LCA study analysed the CO2 emission phase wise
work was done on the roof of lead refinery, which increased the
from dismantling to processing. Initially dismantling stage con-
deposition of lead in the surrounding area of Moretusburg, Bel-
tributed to some CO2 emission but at this stage negative emission
gium. It seriously affected the children, and biological monitoring
credit is considered and major impact factor are energy invested in
of the children data showed the increased level of lead i.e.5 mg/dl
transport, production of steel and aluminium metal. After disman-
(as per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA) in the
tling, cell process and cathode separation have some amount of
blood of children. In 2018 after this result, Umicore installed an
CO2addition and reduction from the process. Final hydrometal-
enhanced ventilation system in lead refinery, which reduced the
lurgy process is responsible greater CO2 emission compared to pre-
lead deposition, but it has not reduced effect completely. In
vious and impacted by electricity consumption and material
2018, biological monitoring has shown that 23% children still have
extraction. The overall process reduces the greenhouse gas emis-
lead in blood above reference level compared to 2017 [43].
sion and cobalt, nickel recovery will not have major impact from
the greenhouse gas perspective. However, if the material value
and sustainability aspect of metals are also included, then the recy- 4.7. Investment in modern technology
cling becomes more viable. The recycling activities in India should
not only focus on reduction in greenhouse gas emission but also it World is very optimistic about lithium-ion batteries and its
should focus on the efficient recovery of critical raw material. application in automotive sector as it is already estimated that

Table 10
Greenhouse gas emission and energy consumption in various phases of LIB recycling.

Per Kg of Lithium-Ion Battery

Dismantling Cell separation Cathode separation Hydro processing Total (MJ)
g CO2-eq 234 586 213 1461 2494
Energy
Main impact from Transport, Steel and Al recycling Copper recycling, washing, – Supporting materials –
burning of separator and electricity
g CO2-eq credit 1966 325 269 970 3530
Materials recovered Stainless steel and plastics Copper and Aluminium Aluminium Co, Ni –
Net CO2-eq 1036
Energy -(16–28) MJ

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S. Kala and A. Mishra Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 11
Recycling Initiatives in US.

BATTERY TYPE DISPOSAL METHOD

Alkaline (Mn) Trash Place (normal municipal waste).
Exceptions in California where disposal is in
accordance with the California Universal Waste
Rule.
Lithium / Lithium Ion Complete discharge is required before placing
for recycling
Nickel-Cd (Rechargeable) Batteries are required to reach hazardous waste
collection site
NiMH (rechargeable) These batteries are safe for disposal in the
normal municipal waste stream, although these
batteries are acceptable for recycling by
Fig. 13. Investment (billion $) in EV Vehicle value chain Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation
(RBRC)
Reusable Alkaline Possible to dispose with household trash
Manganese
more than 11 million tonnes of batteries will reach to end of life by (Rechargeable)
2030 globally. It cannot be denied that EV batteries have major
impact on emission reduction, but its growth without addressing
its associated issues will affect tthe society and environment many countries around the world have declared or still in the pro-
adversely. Benchmark mineral intelligence mapped the data of cess of making EV policies. India also have EV polices of electric
investment in lithium-ion sector and it is clear indication from mobility, but these policies are not effective enough without mak-
Fig. 13 [44] that major portion of investment is diverted to EVs ing the policies for spent batteries at the end of life cycle. Few
and little attention is paid to the end of lifecycle of batteries. This countries like Japan, Australia, Canada and EU have made their bat-
triggered the urgent attention for the sustainable development in tery regulation or voluntary participation in recycling. India needs
the growth of EVs. No significant growth in the investments in urgent policy on handling the reverse logistic of these batteries.
the recycling technologies is seen since the last many decade. Policy Initiatives taken by few countries are as given below
However, need of circular economic model, depleting metal European Union: ELV, 2000/53/EC [45] is for vehicles that have
reserves and mitigating the climate change effect paved the way weight below 3500 Kg and it states that 85% of vehicles shall be
for investment in green technology (Fig. 14). reused and recycled. Battery directive 2006/66/EG provides guide-
line to how various batteries should be recycled. EU commission
4.8. Managing life cycle of electric vehicles (EVs) regulation 493/2012 stipulates the calculation of recycling rate.
Battery directive additionally put battery recycling and collection
Just like rechargeable batteries of camera, mobile phones, EV responsibility on manufacturer and obligate the producer of bat-
batteries don’t last forever. After certain specified charging cycle teries for below steps:
these batteries are require replacement or required to be replaced Collection of 95% of batteries in the market produced by them
which may not be the end of life of these batteries. Such used bat- Recycle 50% of total weight of collected batteries
teries have second and third life applications in other sectors. For Reporting authorities on collection and recycling of batteries
example-Telecom and utility companies are using second life bat- Japan: Japan takes the rechargeable battery under producer
teries to optimize their operational cost. The new business trend responsibility and promotes the effective utilization of resource
demands to define first, second and third life application of batter- (2000) and promote 3R rule that is reduce, reuse and recycle. This
ies. Most EV batteries have an 8-year warranty or a 160,000 km is extended producer responsibility, which sets recycling target as
drive limit. Automakers in California are required to extend the 30% for Li-ion, 50% for Small Sealed Lead Acid (SSLA) batteries, 60%
warranty to 10 years or 240,000 km.Once the EV hit on the road for NiCd and 55% for NiMH.
completely, stockpile management of such batteries will become Australia: In Australia, recycling is a joint initiative of consumer,
urgent from both environmental and commercial point of views. electronic suppliers, manufacturer, Government agencies and envi-
Managing the life cycle of batteries and defining the life after the ronmental organization. In Australia, battery recycling policy is in
first useful life is the key to future batteries. full action to provide support for all type of batteries. Australian
recycling initiative is targeting batteries in small devices, renew-
4.9. Rules and Regulation: able energy system and electric vehicle. According to the Aus-
tralian Battery Recycling Initiative (ABRI) estimates, by 2036,
As a contribution to mitigate the effect of climate change and Australia will generate approximately 1.36–1.87 Lakh tonnes of
control the adverse impact of battery wastes on climate change, spent batteries [46] and that will certainly require attention to pro-

Fig. 14. a) NCM ternary material precursor production, b) GEM power battery precursor material production line automatic control.

10
S. Kala and A. Mishra Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 15. Closed loop of battery recycling developed by GEM Co. Ltd

tect environment health and safety. The main objective of ABRI is in recycling and more than 460 patent and 40 standards in the field
to promote collection and processing of all type of batteries. ABRI of battery ternary material recycling. Annual production of ternary
involves schools and Industry to disseminate knowledge regarding material Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese (NCM) & Nickel-Cobalt-
recycling and increasing recycling rate through societal awareness. Aluminium (NCA) for traction batteries are 20,000 tons. NCM tern-
USA: USA has Waste regulations of United States Environmental ary has high specific capacity, high efficiency, high charge and dis-
Protection Agency (USEPA) 1990 s, The Battery Act 1996 and call2 charge voltage with low cost and finds application in the high-
recycle programme to promote recycling and spent battery. Under power lithium ion batteries. NCA material possesses increased
USEPA, battery is considered as hazardous waste and disposal cycle and charging performances and used widely in area from por-
guideline was framed in 1990s for the disposal of these batteries table electronics to electric vehicle and energy storage system.
as detailed in Table 11 [47]. GEM established strong research and development facility in asso-
ciation with Central South University, United Peking University,
4.10. Social awareness Tsinghua University, City University of Hong Kong, Shanghai Jiao-
tong University and China Household Electrical Appliances
Social awareness is one of the important governing factors that Research Institute.
has played an important role in increasing the contribution of recy- GEM is contributing to circular economic model of China by cre-
cled aluminium in total aluminium production in many countries. ating a closed loop (Fig. 15) for recycling in association with many
Similarly, social awareness is important to popularize recycling of other technolgy giants
battery metals that has very good economic potential and it will GEM Co. Ltd targeted community consumption as a crucial part
promote sustainable development by making a favourable ecosys- of recycling chain and established closed loop recycling model with
tem for circular economy. A social awareness program of USA, i.e. help of society by creating awareness. In 2011, GEM opened first
US Call2 Recycle, played a crucial role in boosting the battery recy- 3R (Fig. 16) recycling community shops a kind of supermarket
cling activities and brought society and industries together that for selling of low carbon goods, consumption of second-hand goods
stimulated recycling economy. In India, implementing government and recovery of discarded product.
policies alone may not yield motivating benefits of recycling. It is
both, the consumer and the manufacturers that are required to
participate in the recycling awareness programmes such as Recy- 5.2. Case study 2: Umicore process
cling in school and society of Australia. Eastern Metropolitan Regio-
nal Council (EMRC) of Perth run recycling programme in Perth, Umicore, Belgium based company works on recycling and
where 55% of school participated. EMRC run this programme free material technology and majority of revenue of the company is dis-
of cost in the colleges and communities. It establishes recycle bin tributed among three businesses vertical; emission control from
in all the area of council and in the schools where student, teacher catalyst, material of rechargeable battery and recycling. Umicore
and parents bring batteries to dispose. After accumulation of suffi- combines both pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy technique
cient quantity, these batteries are sent to New South Wales (NSW) for battery recycling. Pyrometallurgy deploys a unique Ultra High
for sorting and processing. Such process increases the efficiency of temperature (UHT) technology for recovery of metal alloys and
recycling in Australia. then designed for downstream hydrometallurgical process. Umi-
core technology differentiates itself from other world existing
technology as:
5. Case study Umicore have high potential for metal recovery compared to
the existing processes.
5.1. Case study 1: GEM Co., Ltd.

GEM Co. Ltd. is a China based company founded in 2001 and

listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) in 2001. GEM estab-
lished strong recycling facility spread over 16 recycling industrial
park and recycles over 2721554.22 MT of waste resource annually.
GEM has strong automated technology to recycle valuable material
like Nickel, Cobalt, Copper, Aluminium, Iron and Lithium from
waste batteries. GEM produces raw material from battery waste
which are back into manufacturing of new batteries. GEM domi-
nate recycling industry with more than 1700 patent world-wide Fig. 16. 3R Principle of GEM Co.

11
S. Kala and A. Mishra Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 17. Balance R&D portfolio at Umicore (Belgium)

Fig. 18. Metal emission at Umicore recycling facility in last four year

Gas cleaning system, which decomposes all organic compound employed in the business and R&D expenditure was 8% of total
to avoid harmful by product dioxins or volatile organic compounds R&D expenditure [48]. Recycling is associated with furnace and
(VOC’s) and fluorenes, are captured in dust. smelting process which itself is an energy intensive process and
Minimize the consumption of energy and greenhouse gases and emission of greenhouse gases are major concern, which have direct
optimizing the energy uses which are present in electrolyte and impact on society and environment. Umicore is consistently mon-
plastic and generating Zero waste itoring its metal emission in air and water and every year decrease
Today Umicore has installed capacity of 7MT per year, which is observed from previous year as shown in Fig. 18. Its research
are distributed mainly three categories mobile phone batteries, activity are also in progress to improve air, water quality and effi-
E-bike and EV batteries. It has balanced R&D portfolio (Fig. 17) to cient recovery of metal.
support recycling business. Recycling business is strategically
aligned with growing need to new market, metal availability, and
growth prospects. 6. Conclusion
Umicore focuses on development of new technologies for exist-
ing growth markets such as Nano Filtration EMC-pre concentration India is a niche market for EV and renewable energy and both
steps, development of new technologies for future market growth are capable of reducing pollution and decreasing greenhouse gas
such as Life cycle analysis of UHT recycling process. It also focuses emission considerably. By replacing conventional energy with
to optimize its current technology such as reducing puffing of renewable energy and internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicle
smelter simulation and modelling, adaptation of current technolo- with EV, India would significantly reduce consumption of fossil
gies for future markets such as onsite and at-line analysis sampling fuels and oil imports. Renewable energy deployment and penetra-
technique for new waste stream. tion of EV is linked with efficient energy storage system and batter-
Currently, Umicore recycling business contributes to19% in total ies are more powerful tool for acceleration of renewable and EV.
turnover and 29% in recurring earnings before interest, tax (EBIT). Like many countries, India also has policy for renewable energy
The company has well planned capital expenditure strategy dedi- and EV, but without managing reverse logistic for battery waste,
cated to business vertical, research, and development (R&D) facil- India would not be able to contribute to address the climate
ity. As per the financial year (FY) 2018–19 annual report capital change issues. India has significantly increased the share of renew-
expenditure in recycling business was 14% of overall capital able energy in total energy mix, but to utilize the maximum poten-
12
S. Kala and A. Mishra Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

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