Lithium batteries “new wave” of waste

Lithium batteries are piling up as a “new wave” of waste for Chinese recycling plants with more electric vehicles there.

The growth of China’s EV industry – and the ambitions of recycling companies – is underpinned by a government drive to eventually phase out fossil fuelled cars, Stuff reports.

Led by companies like BYD and Geely, sales of EVs in China reached 507,000 in 2016, up 53% on the previous year. The government is targeting sales of two million a year by 2020 and seven million five years later, amounting to a fifth of total car production by 2025.

According to the International Energy Agency, China accounted for more than 40% of global electric car sales in 2016, followed by the European Union and the United States. It also overtook the United States as the market with the greatest EV numbers.

Chinese production of lithium batteries also soared. In the first eight months of 2017, Chinese manufacturers produced 6.7 billion batteries, up 51% from the same period the year before.

The first of the EVs reaching the end of their life since their promotion in China in 2009 could see lithium battery waste reach 170,000 tonnes next year, climbing as EV sales rise.

Lithium batteries are not yet classified as hazardous waste, therefore are not subject to stringent disposal controls. Battery waste includes heavy metals like cobalt and nickel, as well as toxic residues.

The China Automobile Innovation Centre, an industry think tank, estimates the recycling market could be worth billions of dollars by 2023.