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The lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling market is becoming increasingly important because of the widespread use of LIBs in every aspect of our lives. Mobile devices and electric cars represent the largest application areas for LIBs. Vigorous innovation in these sectors is spurring continuous deployment of LIB powered devices, and consequently more and more LIBs will become waste as they approach end of life. Considering the significant economic and environmental impacts, recycling is not only necessary, but also urgent. The WPI group has successfully developed a closed-loop recycling process, and has previously demonstrated it on a relatively small scale 1 kg spent batteries per experiment. Here, we show that the closed-loop recycling process can be successfully scaled up to 30 kg of spent LIBs from electric vehicle recycling streams, and the recovered cathode powder shows similar (or better) performance to equivalent commercial powder when evaluated in both coin cells and single layer pouch cells. All of these results demonstrate the closed-loop recycling process has great adaptability and can be further developed into industrial scale.

Demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is increasing owing to the expanding use of electrical vehicles and stationary energy storage. Efficient and closed-loop battery recycling strategies are therefore needed, which will require recovering materials from spent LIBs and reintegrating them into new batteries. In this Review, we outline the current state of LIB recycling, evaluating industrial and developing technologies. Among industrial technologies, pyrometallurgy can be broadly applied to diverse electrode materials but requires operating temperatures of over 1,000 °C and therefore has high energy consumption. Hydrometallurgy can be performed at temperatures below 200 °C and has material recovery rates of up to 93% for lithium, nickel and cobalt, but it produces large amounts of wastewater. Developing technologies such as direct recycling and upcycling aim to increase the efficiency of LIB recycling and rely on improved pretreatment processes with automated disassembly and cleaner mechanical separation. Additionally, the range of materials recovered from spent LIBs is expanding from the cathode materials recycled with established methods to include anode materials, electrolytes, binders, separators and current collectors. Achieving an efficient recycling ecosystem will require collaboration between recyclers, battery manufacturers and electric vehicle manufacturers to aid the design and automation of battery disassembly lines. Recycling techniques are essential to addressing the challenge of resource sustainability associated with the rising demand for lithium-ion batteries. This Review discusses industrial and developing technologies for recycling and using recovered materials from spent lithium-ion batteries. Key points The rapid increase in lithium-ion battery (LIB) production has escalated the need for efficient recycling processes to manage the expected surge in end-of-life batteries. Recycling methods such as direct recycling could decrease recycling costs by 40% and lower the environmental impact of secondary pollution. Pretreatment processes, such as shredding, are used to reduce the size and passivate reactive components. However, such processes create material mixtures, increasing post-processing complexity. Automated disassembly and cleaner mechanical separation could reduce contamination by shredding and increase recovery efficiency, especially at the industrial scale. Advanced recycling techniques, such as direct recycling and upcycling, aim to minimize the environmental impact of recycling, reduce chemical use and increase the recovery efficiency; however, these approaches are still in experimental or pilot stages and require further optimization for industrial scale. To develop and integrate LIB recycling technologies, technical, economic, environmental and social implications must be considered.