Recycling will be the key to unlocking the future of electric vehicles—lead-acid batteries may point the way forward for battery recycling.

Beijing time, July 16 — According to foreign media reports, electric vehicles are steadily gaining prominence in the global automotive market, with their market share steadily climbing. Meanwhile, governments around the world are ramping up efforts to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles and rolling out extensive incentives for clean-energy cars, which are expected to further fuel the booming demand for electric vehicles.
However, for electric vehicles to dominate the market, they must match the supply volume of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles—and achieving this will inevitably require vast amounts of specialized materials, particularly battery components. Therefore, recycling will become the key to determining whether electric vehicles can ultimately prevail in the future. For instance, lead-acid batteries, with their impressive recycling rate of up to 98%, could very well point the way toward more sustainable battery recycling practices down the road.
For traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, even with annual production reaching tens of millions of units, there’s no need to worry about supply chain issues—after nearly a century of development, these supply chains have become remarkably mature. However, the supply chain for electric vehicles is still far from being fully developed. Yet, ramping up EV production will require an even greater and more reliable flow of materials. Beyond lithium, this includes cobalt and other elements essential for manufacturing high-capacity, high-performance batteries. Meanwhile, the motor systems and related electronic components will also face challenges: this sector not only demands vast amounts of copper for winding coils but also relies heavily on rare earth metals to produce powerful, high-strength magnets. The critical issue is that many of these key materials are finite in supply, making it increasingly difficult to ensure a steady, long-term availability. Moreover, relying on a single source for these materials often raises concerns about potential monopolies. Once disruptions occur—whether due to geopolitical factors, environmental constraints, or other unforeseen challenges—a widespread supply monopoly could lead to severe shortages and skyrocketing prices, as there simply wouldn’t be viable alternatives available on the market.
These materials often play a "decisive, game-changing role" in modern technology fields, making the importance of recycling them self-evident. For instance, if the supply of lithium or rare earth elements were to run out, the impact would extend far beyond just electric vehicles—it would bring an entire spectrum of modern electronics manufacturing to a standstill, from smartphones and LEDs to hard disk drives. While mining new resources certainly helps ensure a steady supply, it’s equally crucial to explore innovative ways to (re)use the raw materials that have already been extracted. Globally, more than 10 million electric vehicles are already on the road, and as these vehicles age and reach the end of their lifecycle, it becomes essential to recover and recycle as much material as possible—thereby easing the burden of continually producing fresh raw materials.
Currently, while recycling some materials is remarkably straightforward with today's technology, others prove to be extremely challenging. According to the survey, copper recycling has already become a well-established industry—reclaiming copper wires from automobiles, for instance, is a remarkably simple and direct process. However, other materials are far more complex to recycle; modern battery recycling, for example, remains one of the trickiest tasks in this field.
Recycling EV batteries is a crucial strategy to secure future supply, yet it also represents a significant technical hurdle that the entire supply chain must overcome. Unfortunately, current battery designs haven’t been optimized with recycling in mind—they typically consist of a diverse array of materials, all tightly integrated and sealed within a single, compact container. These battery cells are then assembled into larger battery packs, complete with accompanying electronic components and cooling systems. As a result, very few, if any, electric vehicle battery packs are actually designed for easy disassembly or efficient recycling. Meanwhile, the recycling process remains exceedingly challenging and costly, making it commercially unviable—thus, dedicated recycling infrastructure for this critical sector has yet to be established.

Currently, electric vehicle battery packs are highly integrated components that require significant effort to disassemble. Typically, individual battery cells are tightly bonded together, making recycling extremely challenging. However, a redesign focused on circularity could potentially address this issue in the future. In fact, according to recent research, lead-acid batteries appear to be paving the way for more sustainable EV battery recycling. In these types of batteries, current recycling processes already enable the recovery and reuse of up to 98% of the materials. Looking ahead, further advancements in design and process optimization may create opportunities for the industry to efficiently recover large quantities of lithium, cobalt, and other valuable materials from electric vehicle battery packs. Notably, Australian mining company Neometals plans to establish a commercial-scale facility in Germany, where it aims to annually recycle and reprocess 18,000 tons of used batteries. The plant’s operation begins by separating metals, plastic casings, and foil, followed by a wet-metallurgical process involving chemical treatments to extract lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other elements from the battery’s anode, cathode, and electrolyte materials. Alternatively, high-temperature pyrometallurgical methods can also be employed to recover cobalt, nickel, and copper—but these thermal processes are not suitable for recycling materials like lithium or aluminum.

Up until now, the recycling of rare earth metals has also progressed slowly, primarily because abundant supply has overshadowed the need for recycling. However, given future demand and the potential risks to current supplies, market interest in this area is once again on the rise. The methods for handling these materials—similar to those used for batteries—involve two main approaches: chemical processing and high-temperature treatment. Unfortunately, neither of these methods is currently economically viable in the market. As a result, the recycling rate for these materials remains stubbornly low at just 1%, meaning that their recovery efforts so far have remained more of an academic concept than a commercial reality.
In any case, the global electrification transition is just beginning. As a result, efforts to improve supply chains and recycling methods remain largely at the stage of speculative investment—still far from fully entering the development phase. A common challenge in market economies is that, as other industries adapt around emerging technologies, major players often wait until these innovations gain widespread adoption before committing to the necessary supporting infrastructure. Consequently, as electric vehicles continue to ramp up in popularity, demand for these critical raw materials is expected to keep rising—though the growing pains associated with this market expansion may persist for some time to come. (Translated by Tianya)

Translated from Sina Auto

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