Minerals and metals that are critical to the energy transition, for electric vehicles and for technological components remain a worryingly scarce resource that governments are trying to secure, as we have previously reported.[1] To ensure these supplies, there’s a growing consensus that a circular economy is needed, which would see more investment in recycling these metals back into the supply chain.
The International Energy Agency (IEA)’s annual Global Critical Minerals Outlook report pointed out that scaling up recycling would not only fill gaps in primary mineral supplies and improve supply security, particularly for regions with low natural resources, but it’s also a boon for waste management and the environment.[2]
“While recycling would not eliminate the need for continued investment in new supplies, we estimate that by 2040, recycled quantities of copper, lithium, nickel and cobalt from clean energy applications could reduce primary supply requirements for key minerals by 10 to 30%,” the IEA’s report added.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) recently reported that there was a heavy disparity between recycling rates and opportunities for different materials however.[3] Copper, which has one of the highest recycling rates for metals, had an average of 32% supply from recycled sources between 2009 and 2018.
“Even when excluding defective products recycled during production, the recycling rate remains around 56% of copper produced globally. Still, this means nearly half of the copper produced is discarded rather than recycled,” the WEF said.
Demand for copper is expected to increase by 50% by 2040, according to the IEA, as rapidly growing industries like AI, data centres, clean energy tech and EVs need more and more.[4]
The complexity of metals recycling
While the rationale for having more recycled metals and minerals is obvious, the practicalities of actually doing it make the business case a harder sell. There’s a lot of technical complexity in separating metals out in electronics, where the metals are woven together in tiny amounts.
Recycling infrastructure and incentives are well-established in some regions, but inconsistent even within countries. A stubborn throwaway culture and the rapid upgrade cycles in consumer electronics further contribute to critical minerals going to landfill instead of a recycling centre.
EV battery recycling is similarly challenging. Battery construction is not standardised, so every manufacturer’s batteries may be constructed differently, making dismantling them very difficult. Not only are there metals and minerals worth recovering, there’s also plastics and other materials in and around the metals, along with hazardous chemicals. Any materials that can’t be recovered economically have to be disposed of. Some can go to landfill, but dangerous chemicals need to be stored or disposed of safely. Growing investment
Nevertheless, governments and companies are getting behind the drive for more recycling. The US Department of Defense, for example, recently awarded $19 million to secondary tin producer Nathan Trotter & Co. to expand domestic recycling capacity and capture more of the 38,000 metric tons of tin scrap that is exported every year.[5] Other US Defense Department contracts include funds to 6K Additive, which recycles titanium alloys, and Rare Earth Salts, which recovers terbium from old light bulbs. The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to invest $22 million to upgrade Golden Aluminum's recycling operations in Colorado and earmarked up to $270 million for enhanced copper recycling at a Wieland facility in Kentucky.[6]
The DoE is also trying to spur domestic electric battery recycling. China currently dominates the global EV supply chain and the US is seeking to develop a domestic supply chain for the batteries that needs to invest in manufacturing facilities as well as the mining and recycling minerals and metals to feed into the chain. Most recently, Toyota was awarded $4.5m in funding to help develop an “industry-relevant template for a 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) facility.[7]
In Europe, the Circular Economy Act proposal is expected to try to bolster local recycling facilities, restrict battery waste exports and simplify the process of dealing with batteries at end-of-life. A study by Belgium-based Transport and Environment, an advocacy group for clean transport and energy, claimed that recycling could cut European reliance on EV battery mineral imports by up to a quarter in a decade.[8]
“Recycling spent cells and production scrap could provide 14% of the lithium, 16% of the nickel, 17% of the manganese, and 25% of the cobalt that Europe will need for electric cars in 2030. These could then rise dramatically, and the region has the potential to be almost self-sufficient in cobalt for electric cars in 2040,” the group said in a press release.[9]
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