Life Cycle Assessment of Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling: Evaluating the Impact of Recycling Methods and Location

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling technologies are
advancing
rapidly, with higher recovery efficiencies, lower energy demand, and
more complex supply chains. Previous life cycle assessment (LCA) studies
overlook evolving industry recycling practices and often disregard
key impact categories, such as water consumption, toxicity, and resource
depletion potential. Previous studies also do not evaluate battery
recycling methods within the current supply chain context, specifically
accounting for prevailing battery waste composition, final cathode
material outputs, and varying geographic locations of recycling stages.
This study compares conventional hydrometallurgy (CHR), truncated
hydrometallurgy (THR), and pyrometallurgy (PR) recycling in North
America, Europe, and China. This work considers each method’s
recycling efficiency and the additional primary materials required
to produce the new NMC811 CAM. Leaching and materials extraction contribute
the most to the environmental footprint of recycling. Skipping metals’
extraction in THR leads to the lowest carbon footprint, water consumption,
and toxicity. Compared to China, recycling and manufacturing in North
America reduce the carbon footprint and freshwater toxicity of the
NMC811 CAM by 16% and 30%, respectively. Careful selection of the
recycling and production locations can reduce the environmental impact
of a modern EV NMC811 battery pack by 792 kg CO2-eq and
11,355 L of water, respectively.