batteries

North America's current capacity to process 144,000 tons per year of lithium-ion batteries is "quite insignificant" against the projected growth in new manufacturing, according to a recent overview of the global lithium-ion battery recycling landscape from consulting and research firm Deloitte and a division of the American Chemical Society.

Samsung Electronics is working to take cobalt from old Galaxy batteries and incorporate it into new batteries. 

Washington state regulators this month announced an enforcement action against longtime processor Total Reclaim, stemming from battery processing violations observed during a 2023 inspection.

Legislators have been filing bills all month as the 2025 session starts up, and in the e-scrap realm, two main topics are again at the forefront: extended producer responsibility for batteries and the right to repair consumer electronics. 

Rising insurance costs have been a topic of concern for several years, and while battery-induced fires have caught much of the attention, panelists at the 2024 E-Scrap Conference said there's more to it – and more options are available to ease the pressure. 

A report from the International Energy Agency emphasized the "importance of unlocking the potential of recycling" and laid out policy recommendations for scaling up the industry globally. 

An emerging equipment supplier uses an advanced type of X-ray imaging to locate batteries in recycling facilities while also aiming to capture data on the overall composition of commodities in the stream.

Legislative action on batteries is speeding up, but some of those laws are missing their marks and creating a regulatory environment that is difficult to recycle in, panelists said at the recent E-Scrap Conference in Orlando.

Although the European Union is still several years away from implementing its inaugural Digital Product Passport regulations, e-scrap market participants who do business with Europe are preparing for this new phase in sustainability regulations.

The U.S. Department of Energy has issued $725 million to six U.S. lithium-ion battery recycling projects, including two companies that will bring in batteries from consumer electronics.