Lithium-ion battery recycling relieves the threat to material scarcity amid China’s electric vehicle ambitions

The electric automotive transition is crucial for achieving carbon neutrality, especially in emerging economies like China. However, the scarcity of critical materials in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) challenges electric vehicle (EV) deployment targets. Our work delivers a comprehensive framework of EV battery recycling, considering resource compensation, environmental performance, geospatial optimization, and cost feasibility of closed-loop LIB recycling under China’s carbon neutrality. Our findings show that meeting EV deployment targets will widen the supply-demand gap, with cobalt and manganese demand exceeding 2022 production levels by 54-fold and 116-fold, respectively. Battery recycling is crucial for…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 72104021, 72140002, 72222017, 72174023, 72243001, 72321002, 72141302
• MO
  Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China

  Award: 21JZD027
• BI
  Beijing Institute of Technology