Feasibility of Recycling Polymer Lithium Batteries

From an economic perspective, it is ideal if everything could be reused—especially high-value products like lithium‑polymer batteries. But is recycling lithium‑polymer batteries practically feasible? This question can be addressed by examining the following phenomena:

1. A substantial number of polymer lithium‑ion batteries will reach the end of their service life in the coming years. The cumulative amount of retired polymer lithium‑ion batteries from pure electric vehicles (including plug‑in hybrids) and hybrid passenger cars alone is expected to range from 120,000 to 170,000 tonnes.

2. The recyclability of polymer lithium batteries: the high cost of these batteries is directly linked to the high value of their key components. Currently, polymer lithium batteries are broadly categorized into two types: for nickel‑metal hydride polymer lithium batteries, the primary recyclable materials are nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements, and the associated recycling technologies are well established; for power‑type lithium batteries, the main recoverable materials are copper, aluminum, nickel, and cobalt. Among the various cathode materials used in lithium‑ion batteries, ternary cathodes currently command the highest recycling value, whereas lithium iron phosphate and lithium manganese oxide cathodes have relatively lower recycling values, and the recycling processes for these latter materials tend to be more costly.

3. Environmental protection: As polymer lithium batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and nickel–metal hydride batteries do not contain mercury, cadmium, lead, or other toxic heavy metals, their positive and negative electrode materials, electrolyte solutions, and other components still have a significant environmental impact.

4. Economic considerations: Unlike current dry batteries, once dry batteries meet environmental standards, they no longer require recycling, as their low cost results in limited post‑recycling value. Lithium‑ion batteries used in polymer lithium‑ion batteries differ from nickel‑metal hydride batteries. For example, the service life of power lithium‑ion batteries is approximately 20 years, whereas that of automotive power batteries is only 3 to 5 years. When their capacity drops below 80% of the original level, the driving range of electric vehicles is significantly reduced; however, for energy storage systems, these batteries still retain considerable value.