Economic and structural challenges of lithium-ion battery recycling in Europe: A stakeholder-based assessment

Given the critical importance of lithium-ion batteries in the electric vehicle market and the limited availability of critical raw materials like lithium, cobalt, and graphite, effective and profitable battery recycling processes are vital for reducing European dependency on imports and enhancing the sustainability of batteries. The analysis of economic and structural challenges of lithium-ion battery recycling is based on expert interviews with 13 stakeholders in the battery value chain, including vehicle manufacturers, logistics providers and recycling companies. The investigated processes include battery collection, classification, transport, intermediate storage, mechanical treatment, and chemical processing. The findings confirm that current recycling practices are not profitable: transport can account for up to 70% of total recycling costs, chemical processing infrastructure requires investments of around 23 euros per ton of input material, and many recycling plants operate at less than 10% of their capacity due to insufficient battery return volumes. To address these challenges, a decentralized structure is proposed, with regional pretreatment facilities and centralized chemical processing hubs, to reduce transport distances, lower costs, and improve scalability.