A solid recycling ecosystem could make or break Europe’s nascent electric vehicle (EV) industry. Taking end-of-life (EoL) batteries and production scrap from gigafactories reduces reliance on virgin raw materials, addressing both environmental and ethical concerns linked to mining and extraction. A strong recycling industry also avoids geopolitical headwinds and slashes the risks associated with relying on other regions. On top of everything else, it provides a local supply of necessary materials to meet growing recycled content requirements in EV batteries.
It’s early days yet for EVs, but as the vehicle parc ages and more models reach the end of their useful life, recycling is poised to take off. Non-profit organisation Transport & Environment (T&E) anticipates that the influx of EoL batteries will start to accelerate significantly after 2030, with around 170 GWh of batteries available for recycling in 2035, rising to 470 GWh by 2040.
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