Comparing the environmental performance of industrial recycling routes for lithium nickel-cobalt-manganese oxide 111 vehicle batteries

Abstract

The last decade witnessed an increasing global adoption of electric vehicles. Moreover, the nickel-cobalt-manganese battery chemistry has gained wide acceptance among manufacturers of electric vehicles in Europe. Nevertheless, the environmental impacts associated with recycling this battery technology have not been fully investigated. Therefore, a comparative life cycle assessment is presented for two hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical recycling routes for the highlighted battery technology. Both processes show a positive net environmental impact when considering avoided virgin material production, in particular nickel and cobalt. Environmental hotspots of battery recycling processes include extraction solvents, water emissions from the wastewater treatment process, and electricity consumption.