Global Battery Alliance

Long term ambition

To ensure that the battery value chain is socially responsible, environmentally and economically sustainable and innovative.

Context

• By 2025, the battery market will reach $100 billion, primarily driven by the growing global stock of electric vehicles. However, this growth comes at a social and environmental toll

• Raw materials needed for batteries are linked to social and environmental issues

• No scaled systems are in place to enable re-use and recycling of over 11 million tons of the spent lithium-ion batteries forecast to be discarded by 2030

• Innovation potential remains unexploited along the value chain, holding back greater supply chain transparency, business model and technological innovation

Objectives

• Support responsible and sustainable supply chains of key raw materials

• Accelerate the transition towards a circular economy for batteries

• Support collaboration to unlock innovation along the value chain

Project description

With respect to circular economy pillar in the Alliance:

• The circular economy market and its potential evolution over time will be assessed in a scoping study (by early 2019)

• Opportunities to lower repurposing and re-use costs for batteries will be assessed (e.g. standard-setting, establishing a framework to help address regulatory and liability challenges)

• Barriers to recycling of electric vehicle battery will be quantified and a public-private pilot launched to test scalable solutions 

• A portable electronics collection pilot is being scoped to test how materials can be recovered more efficiently