Building energy storage power stations with waste lithium batteries

What is waste lithium-ion battery recycling?

Waste lithium-ion battery recycling technologies (WLIBRTs) can not only relieve the pressure on the ecological environment, but also help to break the resource bottleneck of new energy industries, thereby promoting the development of a circular economy, enhancing both sustainability and economic efficiency [ 8 ].

Is lithium ion battery the energy storage of the future?

Accordingly, surplus energy must be stored in order to compensate for fluctuations in the power supply. Due to its high energy density, high specific energy and good recharge capability, the lithium-ion battery (LIB), as an established technology, is a promising candidate for the energy-storage of the future.

Are lithium-ion battery recycling processes sustainable?

Nat. Chem. 7, 19–29 (2015). Gaines, L. Lithium-ion battery recycling processes: research towards a sustainable course. Sustain. Mater. Technol. 17, e00068 (2018). The net impact of LIB production can be greatly reduced if more materials can be recovered from end-of-life LIBs, in as usable a form as possible.

What are the reuse and recycling pathways of lithium-ion batteries?

Fig. 1: Reuse and recycling pathways considering economic and environmental functions. Our method encompasses the system boundaries of the lithium-ion battery life cycle, namely, cradle-to-grave, incorporating new battery production, first use, refurbishment, reuse, and end-of-life (EOL) stages.

What are the applications of battery recycling?

Applications in the reuse phase include energy storage systems (ESSs), communication base stations (CBSs), and low-speed vehicles (LSVs). When the batteries are subjected to the EOL stage, pretreatment and three recycling technologies are considered, including hydrometallurgical, direct, and pyrometallurgical recycling.

How much lithium ion battery waste will be generated in 2020?

A material flow analysis indicates that lithium-ion battery wastes generated from EV deployment in the United States could reach 1 to 23 thousand tonnes in 2020, (2) while it is estimated that the cumulative waste outflow of EV batteries in China would be 120–170 thousand tonnes by 2020. (4)