Recycling and Circular Economy for Metals in Emerging Clean Technologies (2022) PDF

Mineral Economics (2022) 35:539–562 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13563-022-00319-1 ORIGINAL PAPER Recycling and circular economy—towards a closed loop for metals in emerging clean technologies Christian Hagelüken1 · Daniel Goldmann2 Received: 18 December 2021 / Accepted: 8 April 2022 / P...

Mineral Economics (2022) 35:539–562 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13563-022-00319-1 ORIGINAL PAPER Recycling and circular economy—towards a closed loop for metals in emerging clean technologies Christian Hagelüken1 · Daniel Goldmann2 Received: 18 December 2021 / Accepted: 8 April 2022 / Published online: 12 May 2022 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022 Abstract Resource efficiency, energy, and mobility transition are crucial strategies to mitigate climate change. The focus is on reduc- ing the consumption of resources, especially energy and raw materials. While raw materials are the basis of our material world, their excessive consumption over the last decades has also contributed significantly to climate change. However, raw materials, and here especially metals, play a key enabling role as well for climate protection technologies, such as electro mobility, the hydrogen economy, and solar and wind power plants, and also for digitalization. Accordingly, it is necessary to make the use of raw materials much more resource-efficient than before and to use them as purposefully as possible instead of consuming them. Advanced circular economy systems and sophisticated recycling technologies build the backbone for the development of a resource efficient and sustainable society. Closed metal cycles contribute for a paramount share to this by securing relevant parts of the raw material supply for high-tech products and by reducing ­CO2 emissions in their production at the same time. Interacting steps in multistage treatment processes by mechanical, chemical, and thermal unit operations are challenging but will give a competitive advantage for networks of industry and science that are able to handle that. Keywords Recycling · Circular economy · Metals · Li Ion batteries · Automotive catalysts · WEEE Introduction—significance of recycling approach to this is the circular economy, because metals can and the circular economy basically be reused “infinitely,” mostly without any loss of qual- ity.1 If modern recycling technologies are applied consistently, Resource efficiency, energy, and mobility transition are cru- pure metals are available again at the end of the processes that cial strategies to mitigate climate change. The focus is on are identical in their chemical and physical properties to those reducing the consumption of resources, especially energy from mining. But how can metals such as cobalt (Co), nickel and raw materials. While raw materials are the basis of our (Ni), and lithium (Li) in electric car batteries; platinum group material world, their excessive consumption over the last metals (PGM) in catalysts; or precious metals, copper (Cu), and decades has also contributed significantly to climate change. tin (Sn); and other technology metals in electronic components However, raw materials, and here especially metals, play a be used and recycled as resource-efficiently as possible? key enabling role as well for climate protection technologies, We will look at this question in more detail in the follow- such as electro mobility, the hydrogen economy, and solar ing chapter, with a focus on metals in consumer products. and wind power plants, and also for digitalization. After pointing out the significance and policy approach of Accordingly, it is necessary to make the use of raw materi- recycling and the circular economy, we will briefly explain als much more resource-efficient than before and to use them the technical and economic fundamentals of metal recycling. as purposefully as possible instead of consuming them. A key We will then look into concrete examples: Where do we 1 Nevertheless, some dissipative metal losses along the lifecycle can- * Christian Hagelüken not be completely avoided. Hence a 100% cycle is never possible and [email protected] the in-use metal stock of a certain application slightly decreases with 1 every additional cycle, see also Sect. "Current status of metals recy- Umicore AG & Co KG, Hanau, Hessen, Germany cling". Some quality losses can occur for less noble metals such as 2 Department of Mineral and Waste Processing, aluminum (Al) or magnesium (Mg) and in case of alloy recycling but TU Clausthal University of Technology, compared to non-metallic resources the principal recyclability of met- Clausthal‑Zellerfeld, Lower Saxony, Germany als is excellent. 13 Vol.:(0123456789) 540 C. Hagelüken, D. Goldmann stand today with regard to circularity and recycling with jobs in Europe. The need for more supply chain resil- established products such as cars, catalysts, or electronics? ience has become even more obvious in the context of What can we learn from this for new emerging products such the Covid 19 pandemic and the Ukraine war. as batteries for electric vehicles (EV)? Taking these in-praxis – Contributes to cushion volatile metal prices as the addi- insights as basis, the general opportunities and challenges of tional supply of recycled metals can help to overcome metal recycling will be identified. As will be shown, many of demand–supply imbalances and increases the number these challenges are beyond technology—legal framework of metal sources beyond the primary producers. conditions, business models, and stakeholder collaboration – Reduces the ­CO2 footprint and overall environmental are of key importance as well. EV batteries are considered impact of raw materials supply. If taking place in state- here on purpose in an own sub-chapter, as they have a high of-the-art recycling facilities, in most cases the energy relevance for (critical) metals. They are an example of an efficiency (per kg of metal) is better and the impact on emerging, highly dynamic market (also on the technology water, air, soil, and biosphere is considerably lower side) where circularity strategies and recycling will become than in mining operations. Main reason is that the metal a “policy must.” Although currently only small volumes of concentration in most of our products is much higher end-of-life EV batteries are available, it is now the right than in geological deposits. time to develop technologies and set up appropriate frame- – Is one pillar of responsible sourcing by providing trans- work conditions and business models. It offers a chance to parent and clean supply chains. overcome recycling deficits we have experienced in estab- – Is important as well for the protection of the environ- lished products such as cars or electronics. In this context, ment as non-recycling or landfilling of EoL products electromobility could become a role model to establish a such as electronics, batteries, or vehicles bears the risk circular economy. of emitting hazardous and harmful substances. The final part of this chapter will look into new develop- ments and requirements in collection, mechanical process- This does not mean to strive for 100% recycling of ing and extractive metallurgy, including slag engineering all metals, as technical and economical limits need to and slag processing. It will emphasis the importance of sys- be considered. As discussed in Wellmer and Hagelüken temic approaches which make use of various complementing (2015), an optimum mix of secondary and primary metal technologies, considering interdependencies and interface supply exists. Recovering the last bits of metals from optimization. low-grade and complex materials can become more energy intensive than supplying these from primary Rational—on the significance of recycling resources. However, as will be shown in this chapter, in modern societies there is significant room to improve recycling, especially of precious and special metals from industrial residue The benefits of metal recycling go far beyond proper waste streams and EoL consumer goods such as electronic management. While responsible sourcing of raw materials, devices, vehicles, or batteries. specifically metals, rightfully has drawn more attention over Due to the permanent nature of metals and the long life- the last years, also effective and responsible recycling needs time of some metal-bearing products and infrastructures to be understood as a cornerstone for a more sustainable and (which can stay in stock for tens, e.g., vehicles, or hun- competitive economy (Goldmann 2010a, b). In this context, dreds, e.g., buildings, of years) or the huge sales volumes responsible metal recycling: of consumer products such as electronic devices or batter- ies (with relatively short use times), we have been building – Contributes to the conservation of raw materials, com- up a significant anthropogenic stock, creating a potential plementing the primary supply of important and partially future urban mine for technology metals. Setting up a cir- critical metals for our society. cular economy means that at the end of these products’ – Can significantly improve supply security, especially lives—whenever and wherever this will take place—they for many technology metals which currently are need to be responsibly and efficiently recycled (Hagelüken imported from outside Europe. Many metal imports 2014), (Hagelüken et al. 2016). derive from regions with higher geopolitical risks, Today’s growing demand for metals, however, cannot hence making the European economy vulnerable to be met by recycling alone. Primary (mining) and second- supply disruptions. Exploiting the European “urban ary (recycling) supply will remain complementary in the mine” built from our end-of-life (EoL) products, infra- future. But with an increasing utilization of the recycling structure, and other residue streams reduces import potential, and as mining conditions are expected to become dependence, improves the resilience of crucial value more difficult (lower ore grades, more complexity, greater chains, and hence supports economic activities and depths, etc.), the optimum supply mix will move towards 13 Recycling and circular economy—towards a closed loop for metals in emerging clean technologies 541 an increasing share of secondary metals (Wellmer and Their comprehensive recycling and reintroduction into new Hagelüken 2015). lifecycles enables a secured access to metals, a key building block for a competitive economy. Figure 1 shows the widely The circular economy policy approach used circular economy loop from this communication. as the overarching concept A more recent important initiative is the “European Green Deal,” launched in December 2019. It lists 11 main action With the Raw Materials Initiative started in 2008, the EU areas for transforming the EU’s economy for a sustainable Commission has placed the significance of raw materials for future. Among these are four with a high relevance for mate- the European Economy high on the European policy agenda. rials and metals, either needed as enabler and/or becoming a “Resource efficiency and supply of secondary raw materials key subject for circularity themselves. These are “Supplying through recycling” is one of three pillars of this initiative, in clean, affordable and secure energy,” “Mobilizing industry addition to a “Fair and sustainable supply of raw materials for a clean and circular economy,” “Accelerating the shift to from global markets” and a “Sustainable supply of raw mate- sustainable and smart mobility,” and “A zero-pollution ambi- rials within the EU” (EU-COM 2008, 699). Linked to this, tion for toxic-free environment.” Linked to this is also “Mobi- from 2010 onwards, the EU commission started the assess- lizing research and fostering innovation” (EU-COM 2019). ment of Critical Raw Materials (CRM) for the EU economy. The “Circular Economy Action Plan” published in March The first list of 14 CRMs was published in 2011 (EU-COM 2020 builds on the Green Deal and the preceding circular 2011, 25). It is updated every 3 years; the most recent edi- economy actions and “provides a future-oriented agenda tion from 2020 comprises 30 raw materials, 21 out of which for achieving a cleaner and more competitive Europe in are metals (EU-COM 2020b, 474). A Commission report co-creation with economic actors, consumers, citizens and from January 2018 highlights the potential for a more circular civil society organizations.” It “presents a set of interrelated usage of CRMs. “Reviewing important sectors for CRMs, initiatives to establish a strong and coherent product policy it describes relevant EU policies, refers to key initiatives, framework that will make sustainable products, services and presents and gives sources of data, identifies good practices business models the norm and transform consumption pat- and indicates possible further actions” (Gislev et al. 2018). terns so that no waste is produced in the first place. This Recycling is one of the factors addressed in these assessments product policy framework will be progressively rolled out, and publications because it reduces the supply risk for raw while key product value chains will be addressed as a matter materials. For a positioning of the European Union, studies of priority. Further measures will be put in place to reduce on international developments can provide relevant bench- waste and ensure that the EU has a well-functioning inter- marks (Goldmann et al. 2014). nal market for high quality secondary raw materials.” This This work has been complemented by a number of fur- new Circular Economy Action Plan addresses specifically ther policy actions. In July 2014, the Commission published electronics and ICT as well as batteries and vehicles as key the communication “Towards a Circular Economy—A zero product value chains (EU-COM 2020a, 98). waste programme for Europe” (EU-COM 2014, 398), fol- lowed in Dec. 2015 by “Closing the Loop—An EU action plan for the Circular Economy” and a number of revised legislative proposals on waste (EU-COM 2015, 614). The essence of the approach in this “Circular Economy pack- age” becomes clear in the following quote from the 2015 communication: Circular Economy is defined as “an economy where the value of products, materials and resources is maintained in the economy for as long as possible, and the generation of waste is minimized. … to develop a low carbon, resource efficient and competitive economy” (EU-COM 2015, 614). This shows that circular economy is not a target in itself but is linked to carbon reduction, resource efficiency, as well as to industrial competitiveness. In this context, metals are the ideal candidate, because—in principle—they are “eter- nally” recyclable. They are not physically lost like fossil raw materials and—if recycling is taking place in state-of- the-art processes—down cycling or materials quality issues Fig. 1  The circular economy approach of the EU Commission (EU- can mostly be avoided, as we will see later in this chapter. COM 2014, 398), Towards a circular economy 13 542 C. Hagelüken, D. Goldmann From these communications, it becomes evident that the get visible. Only these “EoL recycling rates” are a use- Circular Economy will play a key role to achieve the climate ful circularity indicator, i.e., how well specific metal goals for 2050. This is also referred to in the “Fit for 55” loops are physically closed. They indicated which share communication from July 2021 (EU-COM 2021, 550). of a metal originally placed on the market within certain It is crucial to understand that circular economy means products finally is recycled from these products. more than recycling, it is a conceptual approach on how to While some production residues are recycled already develop, design, distribute, use, repair, reuse, and finally effectively in some stages along the production chain, recycle products (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Sun, McK- there is still a way to go for others. The higher the value insey 2015). While effective product recycling is a key meas- of the constituents and the lower the complexity of a spe- ure to increase and secure the supply of raw materials, there cific residue, the more of that material will be recirculated, are additional important measures which impact the demand preferably if this can be accomplished in a closed produc- side. These so-called “inner loops” of the circular economy tion loop. comprise better utilization rates of products, reuse, repair, Major avoidable problems appear, when different residual refurbishment, and remanufacturing; they all contribute to streams from different production steps within one plant are extend the lifetime and/or utilization of products and hence mixed. While producers care thoroughly for their precursors delay the demand for new raw materials. In this context, an and products, they partly still do not pay sufficient attention appropriate product design (e.g., modular devices) is crucial to those side streams. Classical examples are downgrad- to support repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing. Such ing of aluminum scrap by a common collection of different products usually can also be recycled (disassembled) easier. alloys, used in one product. A separation afterwards is pos- For example, if a battery in a tablet computer or smart phone sible but at higher efforts. Even more critical is the mixing of is removable, this facilitates both the repair by exchanging a residues from different sputtering or galvanization processes. defect battery and the battery dismantling at end-of-life of the In some cases, mixing of specific material streams also can device as prerequisite for high-quality recycling (see below). lead to a higher recycling potential if this improves the over- However, ultimately reuse must lead into-high quality all thermodynamic environment of the process. recycling. Exporting old products to regions where a sub- An optimization can be reached by a better understand- sequent high-quality recycling is rather unlikely to happen ing of the overall chain and easily applicable information creates the so-called “reuse paradox” as it in fact extends the tools, supplying all essential information at one sight. Such product lifetime but decreases resource efficiency by failing developments are fostered by what is called digitized circu- to finally close the material loop. Hence, in this contribu- lar economy. New developments on “Recycling 4.0” offer tion, we will focus on the “outer loop,” i.e., the recycling of opportunities to transfer “Industry 4.0” approaches onto the metals as the final step in the circular economy, which in an field of recycling (Lawrenz et al. 2021). ideal case has been delayed by lifetime extension via suc- Certainly more complex are the challenges when deal- cessful measures for the “inner loops.” ing with EoL products. While recycling rates for some Industry can make use of circular strategies and appropri- classical commodities are quite high (Fig. 3), many critical ate business models to mitigate supply risk for (critical) raw metals are lost almost completely yet. This is especially materials (Tercero Espinoza et al. 2020; Cimprich et al. 2022). true for those elements, used as very low concentrated “spice metals” with respect to the overall composition of Current status of metal recycling and circularity a product. Typical examples would be tantalum in capacitors of The level of recycling and circularity differs quite a lot, electronic equipment or indium in LCD panels. While the depending on products and metals taken into focus. value of precious metals like gold or platinum and the The UNEP report from 2011 on “Metal Recycling” content in products compared to natural ores are very high, (UNEP 2011) gives an overview on the share of second- their recovery rates even from EoL products reach higher, ary raw materials in the global metal production (so called though partly still not satisfying levels. Major attention “Recycling input rate”) (Fig. 2). However, the numbers in has been put therefore over the last years on critical met- this graphic just partly indicate the recycling effectiveness als, essential for high-tech products but with limited mar- as also dynamic effects such as market growth have a big kets. An efficient and economical viable recovery and impact. In case of a rapid demand increase for a metal recycling of these metals is a major technological chal- due to emerging product use even at 100% recycling, the lenge. This challenge can be met by complex treatment secondary supply will not be able to meet the new demand chains comprising modern pre-sorting and robotic-based (e.g., Co or Li in rechargeable batteries). dismantling steps followed by multistage mechanical, ther- Especially in comparison with the recycling rates of mal/metallurgical, and chemical treatment steps in multi- metals from EoL products (Fig. 3), major differences metal recovery processes. 13 Recycling and circular economy—towards a closed loop for metals in emerging clean technologies 543 Fig. 2  Secondary raw materials in metal production (UNEP 2011) To push that further, reliable research strategies and for Germany (CEID 2021). Specific parts have been dedi- research funding, safeguarding of investments on new cated to packaging and batteries. The latter ones are of technologies by reliable political economic setting, and a superior importance for the recycling of several impor- strengthened societal understanding are necessary. tant metals like cobalt, nickel, and lithium. Beyond spe- So where do we stand today? Let us have a closer cific questions on process chains, major attention has to look to Germany. A set of papers has been published be paid on new business models for circularity. Finally between December 2020 and June 2021 dealing with GERRI, the German Research Platform on Raw Materials the situation, the challenges, and necessary next steps. recently published a position paper on responsible raw A very good overview and the state of the art is given materials supply, addressing effects on climate change as in a paper, published by nine leading associations in the well (GERRI 2021). field of waste management and recycling in Germany in Summing up, there is still significant potential to 2020 (Statusbericht Kreislaufwirtschaft 2020). It can be improve circularity and recycling of most metals. But it seen that approximately 45% of the feed for steel pro- needs to be understood that “100%” recycling will not be duction is coming from scrap in German steel plants. possible. Some metal losses will be inevitable as there are Aluminum production is already based on scrap for about limits of metal recycling due to a dissipative use in some 57% and copper production for around 41% (data from applications and technical/thermodynamic constraints 2015 to 2016). Focusing on future challenges and meas- especially in the case of multi-metal mixes. ures to be taken, the “CEID Circular Economy Initiative The following parts of this chapter will provide a closer Deutschland” sketches out a Circular Economy Roadmap view on opportunities and limits of metal recycling. 13 544 C. Hagelüken, D. Goldmann Fig. 3  Recycling rates of metals from End of Life products (UNEP 2011) Fundamentals of metal recycling In comparison, our urban mine, e.g., of electronic prod- ucts, is much richer: motherboards from a computer, tablet, Complex products in the “urban mine” etc. have Au contents of 100–150 g/t, with palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), Cu, Sn, antimony (Sb), and many other met- The metal concentration in many products of our daily als in addition. In a smartphone, the Au content even is at life is significantly higher than what can be found in most 150 g/t and more, again in addition with all the other metals. geological deposits. This principal advantage of “urban And an automotive catalyst contains between 2 and 3 kg of mining,” so recycling of metals from EoL products, over PGMs in a ton of automotive catalyst ceramic. These figures the extraction of primary ores can be nicely illustrated on show that for a lot of precious metals containing products, the example of gold (Au). In gold mining, the ore concen- there is a concentration advantage of factor 20 and more. tration is on global average well below 5 g of Au per ton of So urban mining should be a no-brainer for such products, ore. In other words, a lot of rock has to be mined, hoisted, widely used in modern societies. But why in reality do we milled, etc. to get access to a tiny amount of gold, requir- face so many challenges? ing substantial resources. From the magnitude, this is very One of the reasons is that primary mining, although often similar for PGMs and also for base metals such as Cu, Ni, at low grade, benefits from a large ore volume available at and Sn where big concentration differences do exist. a fixed location. Once a mine is explored and started, it can 13 Recycling and circular economy—towards a closed loop for metals in emerging clean technologies 545 be exploited over decades. On the other side, our urban mine halogenated plastics with bromine (Br), chlorine (Cl), fluo- made out of our EoL products can be of high grade but is rine (F); and many other substances such as glass, ceram- dissipated over millions of units in private households and ics, and organic materials. Recycling has to cope with this industry. So there is a huge global dissemination and one complex mix, aiming to recover a wide range of metals and key question arises: how to accumulate millions of such dis- substances with high yields while preventing hazardous carded EoL products into an “urban mine” of a reasonable emissions and environmental or health risks from material size which makes it economically viable to recover it? Only processing or landfilling of residues. A specific challenge in after such an accumulation of EoL products at a suitable this context is the simultaneous presence of inorganic (met- location, the urban mine “orebody” is formed and the image als) and organic materials as well as of certain metal mixes really fits. which as such do not occur in geological deposits. Recycling To achieve economic viability of recycling, an effective flowsheets have to address such differences, and although the collection of EoL products is of high importance, as illus- final metallurgical processing often is based on flowsheets trated hereafter on the example of a smartphone. Although developed for primary ores, various adaptions are needed to the purchasing price of such an item easily can exceed 300 treat recyclables (UNEP 2013). €, its metal value at 2020 prices is just a little more than 1 €, and about 75% of this derives from Au (Bookhagen and Technological basics—the recycling chain Bastien 2020). So the economic incentive to recycle a sin- for (complex) metal containing products gle phone for recovering the metal value is rather low. On the other side, a company managing to collect about 50.000 As illustrated in Fig. 4, product recycling never is just a single mobile phones—which accounts for some 5 tons—and step but always a chain of subsequent processes. It starts with placing these at the gate of a state-of-the-art metallurgical collection of EoL products, followed by pre-processing, which recycling plant creates a net metal value of up to 50.000 € means a manual and/or mechanical disintegration of these prod- (already considering the recycling costs at the plant). From ucts into certain fractions for further treatment and recovery. this, it becomes evident that accumulation of large quanti- In the case of metal recycling, the final step is the chemical- ties of devices is crucial for economic viability. Looking metallurgical end-processing of these individual fractions to now at the global sales of mobile phones—about 1.8 Billion generate pure metals or metal salts (Hagelüken 2012). annually—their total metal value is close to 2 Billion €. This The lower the quality standard of a recycling process, represents a very significant resource value that should not the higher are the metal losses. For an effective recycling be wasted. chain, it is not sufficient to have highly efficient metallur- In addition to the accumulation and economic challenge, gical processes as final step; efficiency in the sense of a the material composition of products can differ fundamen- high-maintained value is needed along the entire recycling tally from mining ores. Taking again the example of elec- chain. This total chain efficiency is mostly determined by tronic products, these contain a highly complex mix of mate- the weakest link in this chain (usually collection) and rials: valuable ones like the precious metals but also base derived by multiplying the efficiencies of the individual and special metals such as Cu, Ni, Al, Sn, Co; hazardous steps. This can be illustrated on the concrete example of substances like mercury (Hg), beryllium (Be), lead (Pb); gold recycling from electronics (see Fig. 4). In case of Fig. 4  Recycling chain and material losses for EoL consumer prod- or illegal exports and (2) in pre-processing metals can get lost into ucts (example calculation for Au yield from electronic scrap). Along wrong fractions or to landfill and (3) also in end-processing certain this chain, metal value losses do occur, because (1) EoL products are metal losses occur into slags and other residues not collected or—after collection—are leaving Europe as dubious 13 546 C. Hagelüken, D. Goldmann a collection efficiency of 50% and a pre-processing effi- ciency for gold of 70%, then even with a very high end- processing efficiency of over 95%, the overall recycling efficiency for gold would only be at 33%. And this is quite close to today’s recycling reality even in Europe. Hence, in the case of most consumer goods such as electronics, vehicles, or batteries, improving the over- all effectiveness of recycling mainly requires adequate measures to boost the collection of these products at their end-of-life—and to secure that after collection they are channeled into state-of-the-art recycling processes. Next important step is to make use of appropriate pre- processing facilities, capable of disintegrating complex products into fractions suitable for further end-processing respectively metallurgical processing in the case of metal recycling. Here, pre-sorting the collected items by main Fig. 5  Impact factors for the economic viability of recycling product groups, product design (accessibility of product components such as batteries or circuit boards) and opera- tional excellence of the pre-processing facilities are crucial factors for cost effectiveness and to avoid that metals are – The performance of the recycling chain and of the lost into wrong fractions (e.g., Cu in steel fraction) from applied processes (e.g., with regard to metal yields, where they cannot be recovered. energy efficiency, environmental and safety standards). In many cases, the subsequent metallurgical processes – Economies of scale: which quantities are where avail- are already of high efficiency but they can only recover what able, and when? reaches such facilities. For complex materials, such as elec-   However, it is not sufficient to look only at the micro- tronic fractions or catalysts, usually a combination of pyro- economic level. In addition, societal benefits and soci- metallurgy (“smelting”) and hydrometallurgy (“leaching and etal costs caused by inappropriate waste management chemical separation/purification”) is applied. Again, prepa- have to be considered. These recycling benefits on the ration and blending of feed for the metallurgical treatment, macro-economic level were already explained in the operational excellence and management of slags, effluents, “Rational—on the significance of recycling in modern and other residues are of high importance. Also, thermo- societies” section and comprise: dynamic limits do exist; in a complex multi metal mix, not – Resource conservation, complementing the mine-sup- all materials/metals can be recovered (at high yields) and ply of scarce raw materials without trade-offs for the recovery of others; hence prior- – An increased supply security by accessing metals from itization of target metals is often needed. Depending on the local waste sources instead of imports. feed composition and operational parameters of the applied – A contribution to responsible sourcing by providing process, some elements will report to slags, flue dusts, or access to clean supply chains effluents. Although principally this can be used as a separa- – Reducing the ­CO2 footprint and environmental impact tion step as well and metals could be recovered from such of metal supply streams, energy requirements and economics often result in – Avoiding damage and related societal costs from land- constraints. This is more elaborated in UNEP (2013). fill or sub-standard treatment Although these societal benefits are crucial, it is the Basic economics of recycling micro economic level which foremost counts for compa- nies. Hence an appropriate legal framework is needed to The economic viability of recycling is determined by a set of realize the societal benefits, making use of tools such as principal factors. We need to distinct here between the micro producer obligations, fees, collection and recycling targets, and the macro-economic level as shown in Fig. 5. etc. An additional approach would be the internalization of On a micro-economic level these factors are: external costs, e.g., by incorporating ­CO2 pricing. In order to assess whether recycling of a certain waste – Product type and composition: which recyclable mate- category is economically viable on a company level, the for- rials are contained in which concentration? mula outlined in Fig. 6 can be applied: calculating the recov- – The current market prices of recyclable materials and metals. erable material value, deducting from this the total recycling 13 Recycling and circular economy—towards a closed loop for metals in emerging clean technologies 547 chain costs, and eventually adding a recycling fee. Such a fee high-quality recyclers. The reason for “bad” recycling, can be imposed by business models (e.g., leasing, deposits) unfortunately still quite common today, is pretty simple—it and/or legislation to cover externalized costs. Waste recy- is much cheaper than good recycling. cling will not take place in case for a longer period the total recycling costs are higher than the recoverable value and the Basic definitions, system boundaries, gap cannot be bridged by a recycling fee or other legislative and calculation of recycling rates measures. The recoverable material value is the sum of the indi- The term “recycling” is not always used uniformly and is vidual material contents, their achievable recycling yields often interpreted differently. When does recycling begin and and their respective market prices. end? Is it a matter of a rather abstract waste-legal dimen- The recycling chain costs depend on the technical per- sion of the term or a description of the concrete physical formance, the process chain efficiency, and also on the fac- processes? It is important to have a clear designation of tor costs, which are labor, energy, and capital. They can be the system framework as well as definitions, calculation directly impacted by the recycling industry. But there are approaches, and indicators to verify the degree of target additional costs which are beyond the direct control of a achievement that are in line with the objectives. recycler. These are: In the sense of the circular economy’s goal of preserv- ing the value of products, materials, and resources in the – Available volumes (determining economies of scale) economic cycle, we focus here on the physical definition – Environmental, social, and governance performance of recycling. For this, the cycle must actually be closed (ESG) of the recycler in a materialistic sense, i.e., recycled materials or metals – Shipping costs, including taxes and customs must find their way into new products. In this context the – Administrative costs and time requirements for trans- following definitions apply, which are based on (CEID boundary shipments 2020): These latter factors are impacted by legislation and its Recycling: the entire process from the introduction of enforcement as well as by trade legislation. As pointed out end-of-life products into the recycling chain to the com- earlier, complex wastes are a mix of valuable and hazardous pleted extraction of marketable raw materials (recyclates) materials. “Externalisation” of ESG costs by non-compliant for the manufacture of new products of comparable qual- recyclers within or outside the region where the waste is ity to the primary material. It comprises both pre- and generated—e.g., by avoiding depollution of hazardous com- end-processing steps. In the case of metal recycling, the ponents and reporting to authorities and/or by not caring process ends with the generation of pure metals, market- about process emissions and work safety—enables them to able metal alloys or metal salts. pay a higher price for waste (Magalini and Huisman 2018). Return or collection rate: Proportion of EoL products In many cases, the significant cost-saving achieved by non- compared to the products of this category originally compliant, low-quality processes often outweigh their lower placed on the market that were demonstrably collected recycling yields and the shipping costs to such activities. for recycling. It is important to take the system boundary Hence, there is an unlevelled playing field for compliant, into account (e.g., a country, Europe, …). Collection of Fig. 6  Principal calculation of recycling value from waste 13 548 C. Hagelüken, D. Goldmann products for repair and reuse should be accounted sepa- than the output of the final process is usually used to cal- rately to avoid double counting. culate recycling rates, and the losses in the final process Recyclate: Secondary raw material recovered through itself are not taken into account. There are also hardly any recycling, of comparable quality to primary raw materi- specific recycling rates for individual materials/metals. als, can be used as an input for the production of new This now has been introduced for the first time in the draft products and thus replace primary raw materials. It is of the new EU battery regulation (EU-COM 2020c, 798) important to emphasize the quality aspect of recyclates: which can be a promising blue print to transfer the tradi- intermediates which require further processing (e.g., tional waste legislation towards a legislation to improve metal concentrates) are not a (final) recyclate in the sense resource recovery. of this definition. Recovery/recycling rate (RR): Yield related to the overall Recycled content/recycling input rate: The share of recy- recycling process. It describes the quotient of the mass cled material in new products is an important indicator, of physically reusable recyclates and the recycling input e.g., for raw material import dependency. However, it mass, considering the entire recycling process of a prod- says little about the degree of circularity, because: uct. Since material losses can occur in all individual steps of the recycling process chain (dismantling, mechanical pre-treatment, chemical-metallurgical recycling), the o For products with longer lifetimes and growing mar- recovery rate (total yield) results from multiplying the kets, even 100% recycling of old products would not yields of all process steps used. be sufficient to cover the current demand for raw   A distinction must be made between an overall RR materials. related to the product (the masses of all final output p If recyclates from the recycling of other mate- streams are considered) and differentiated, material-spe- rial streams are used for a specific product, they cific RR for the most relevant materials and substances increase its recycled content but reduce the avail- in these products (e.g., x % Co; y % Ni, etc.). Material- able recyclate quantities in the original application specific rates are important if products contain relevant (e.g., use of Al from beverage can recycling for quantities of “critical” and economically important and/ mobile phone housings; use of recycled jewelry Au or particularly C ­ O2-intensive metals and substances in electronics). (example draft EU Battery Regulation (EU-COM 2020c, q A high recycling content in a product alone does 798)). not indicate whether this product will be collected   The RR can be determined as the average over a finan- and recycled to a high standard at the end of its life cial year for an operational unit (recycling site, business (in extreme cases, it could end up in landfill com- unit or recycling process) and needs to be verifiable by pletely). appropriate audits or certification. Circularity rate/CE indicator: Only the physical circular- ity rate (or EoL RR), taking into account the collection rate and the recycling rate of the overall process, can Recycling experience from established be used as a success factor for the degree of circularity products with high relevance for metals of a specific product group or material/substance, i.e., what proportion of a product/material that was placed To develop effective recycling technologies and process on the market x years ago is recovered at the end of life chains for emerging products such as traction batteries of this product and physically used again for production. for electric vehicles (EV), it is helpful to draw on the The EoL recycling rates assessed by the UNEP Resource experience of past technology launches. It is not unu- Panel (UNEP 2011) and displaced in Fig. 3 are based on sual for new technologies to trigger a significant increase this approach. in the demand for specific metals. In the following, the experiences from the introduction of the automotive The current waste legislation, e.g., for Waste Electric catalytic converter and from the recycling of electronic and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) or End of Life Vehi- devices are considered. This provides useful hints on cles (ELV), had been developed with another intention. whether, e.g., the rapid increase in demand for battery The historic focus there is still on waste avoidance and metals can be ensured, whether effective recycling cycles pollutant management instead of a comprehensive raw can be established, what measures need to be taken for an material recovery from waste. The recycling rates in these effective resource management of such emerging prod- legislations do not sufficiently reflect this physical dimen- ucts, and what (legislative) framework conditions need sion in complex products. Accordingly, the input rather to be established. 13 Recycling and circular economy—towards a closed loop for metals in emerging clean technologies 549 Raw material requirements and recycling The recycling of auto catalysts has also increasingly of automotive catalytic converters contributed to the supply of PGM. Figure 7 shows that the recycling share of the PGM supply for auto catalysts The automotive catalytic converter was introduced at the has risen continuously. In 2018, 44% of Pt, 39% of Rh, beginning of the 1980s, driven by new exhaust emission and 30% of Pd demand came from auto catalyst recycling; legislation in California which then gradually spread this static value is referred to as the “recycling input rate.” worldwide. As a result, cars and increasingly commercial Similar to batteries, catalytic converters are long-lived vehicles are now equipped with catalytic converters and products which usually last the lifetime of a car. So it was particulate filters in all major global automotive markets. not until a good 10 years after their market launch that The platinum group metals (PGMs) platinum (Pt), pal- larger quantities of spent catalytic converters were avail- ladium (Pd), and rhodium (Rh), which are used in vari- able for recycling. The time lag between placing on the ous combinations, are decisive for the function of auto- market and PGM availability from catalyst recycling is motive catalytic converters and active particulate filters. on average about 15 years, including also the time needed The introduction of the auto catalyst has increased the for car dismantling, catalyst collection, and PGM recov- demand for these three PGMs by a factor of 4–5 within ery. From the magnitude this can be similar for EV bat- 20–25 years. Today, the auto catalyst is responsible for teries (not considering potential 2nd life applications). some 40% of the global demand for Pt, and for Pd and Rh, As can be seen from Fig. 7, in a growing market, even it is even more than 80%. Although innovative catalytic if 100% of all PGMs from auto catalysts were recycled, converter technology has reduced the specific PGM use this would not be enough to cover current demand. If this required to achieve a given limit value, ever stricter emis- dynamic is taken into account and the current quantity of sion limits (e.g., from Euro 1 to Euro 6) have led to a net recycled PGMs from auto catalysts is compared with the increase in the PGM load per vehicle. quantity originally used, this results in the so-called “EoL Similar to cobalt and lithium which are essential for EV- recycling rate,” which is 50–60%. This means that from battery materials, the primary supply of PGMs is also con- 100% of PGMs originally used in a given year to produce centrated in a few countries. More than 80% of PGM mine catalysts at the end of these catalysts’ life 50–60% have production comes from South Africa and Russia, with South been recovered (while 40–50% was lost). Although this is Africa clearly dominating in platinum and rhodium. Around a high value compared to many other metals, it is signifi- 50% of the palladium is a by-product of Russian nickel pro- cantly below the PGM yield of over 95% that can be tech- duction. Like cobalt, PGMs are also classified as critical raw nically achieved with modern catalyst recycling processes materials in the EU and other regions. Although PGMs have (Hagelüken 2019, Hagelüken 2020a). occasionally experienced temporary supply bottlenecks and In summary, the following experiences with auto catalysts considerable price volatility, supply has never had a negative may also be relevant for lithium-ion batteries: impact on the market penetration of auto catalysts. Techni- cal innovations for the efficient extraction and use of PGMs, Mining production can usually respond to a strong substitution efforts from Pt to Pd and vice versa, as well as a increase in demand for raw materials if appropriate significant expansion of mine production have enabled the price signals are available. There are many examples demand for PGMs to be satisfied at all times. where—triggered by new technologies—mining pro- Fig. 7  Raw material supply 1980–2019 Platinum and palladium for years, the denominator numbers for 2004 are approximated by a best- auto catalysts from mine production and catalyst recycling, world- fit line, i.e., considering the adjacent years wide (Hagelüken 2019). As new demand fluctuates heavily between 13 550 C. Hagelüken, D. Goldmann duction has increased significantly and then remained Comparison of recycling rates of precious metals at this higher level (Wellmer and Hagelüken 2015). in different applications The expansion of primary production takes time, espe- cially when new mines come on stream. As a result of Metals are ideally suited for closed-loop recycling due to this and geopolitical factors in the producing countries their permanent nature. Although recycling rates for steel, (e.g., strikes, political influence, export restrictions), many base, and precious metals in jewelry and industrial temporary supply bottlenecks can occur, especially dur- process catalysts are high, there is still considerable potential ing demand surges, which can have considerable price for optimization, especially for precious and special metals effects. in consumer goods such as electronics or vehicles. Precious A (partial) substitution of key metals (e.g., Pd vs Pt) metals are valuable by definition, and their 2021 prices are can reduce supply deficits and price spikes and drive close to record levels. Moreover, gold and silver have been technological innovation (and vice versa). used since ancient times, while platinum group metals are Recycling can increasingly contribute to security of found in various applications since decades. Accordingly, supply (consider product lifetime). recycling technologies are very mature, and effective recy- New technologies and material compositions may cling processes have been developed to recover these metals require new recycling processes. Early exchange with high yields from numerous products. So both economic between product developers and recyclers can prevent and technical prerequisites for successful recycling are prin- “design flaws.” cipally excellent. But while for some precious metal-con- With the appropriate lead time, adequate recycling pro- taining products indeed recycling works very effectively, for cesses can also be developed for such new products. others this is not the case. Deficits in collection and the recycling process chain Despite sufficient capacity of technically advanced recy- used usually prevent the full utilization of the recycling cling facilities, collection rates are insufficient in many cases potential. Especially in the case of less valuable EoL and even many collected EoL products are not treated in products, this can lead to considerable recycling losses. high-quality recycling processes. As Fig. 8 shows, in appli- Economic incentives alone are usually not sufficient for cations such as consumer electronics or automobiles, the comprehensive and high-quality recycling. Especially in real recycling rates over the entire product life cycle (EoL the case of consumer goods, accompanying legislation recycling rate) are significantly below the technical yields and long-term strategic cooperation between industrial achievable with modern processes (> 95% for precious met- market participants are important! als), even for the valuable precious metals. Most of these material cycles are only partially closed in practice, despite existing laws such as the WEEE, ELV, or battery directives, Unused potential in the recycling of electronic because there are other important influencing factors in addi- devices tion to technology. The material value and the underlying business model Portable lithium-ion batteries have been used for more than have a significant impact on the real EoL recycling rates. two decades in laptops, tablets, and mobile phones and In a business-to-business (B2B) environment, it is usually increasingly in power tools and household appliances. The easier to close the loop even for lower-value materials than use in these devices still accounts for a major share of cobalt in a business-to-consumer (B2C) environment. Beyond the demand in batteries today. In recent years, about 30,000 t/a logistical and technical capabilities of the recycling indus- of cobalt has been used worldwide for such portable batter- try, a major challenge for consumer goods is to create col- ies, some 25% of 2019 cobalt mine production. Recycling lection and recovery incentives that trigger comprehensive technology and industrial capacities are available to recover and effective metal recycling and also make it economically cobalt and other battery metals with high yields. However, attractive. only a small proportion of spent portable batteries actually reach these state-of-the-art facilities at present. This means that globally, a quantity of cobalt is lost annually sufficient to equip 2–3 million fully electric cars with batteries. As Requirements for closing the metals loop pointed out before, in addition many precious, special, and base metals that are also needed for the control electron- It can thus be seen that, in spite of existing waste legislation ics in new technologies can be recycled from old electri- and circular economy approaches, in the case of consumer cal appliances, but this suffers as well from low collection goods, we are still relatively far away from a “circular econ- rates and low qualities of many applied recycling processes omy.” The following sections deal with the basic require- (Hagelüken 2014). ments and success factors for a true circular economy. 13 Recycling and circular economy—towards a closed loop for metals in emerging clean technologies 551 Fig. 8  Comparison of real EoL recycling rates for products containing precious metals. (B2B = Business to Business; B2C = Business to Con- sumer; ± positive/negative influence on EoL recycling rate) The physical and the economic dimensions economy. Since many products contain a mixture of valu- of the circular economy able and hazardous materials, it is important to close the loop for a wide range of materials without compromising The term ‘circular economy’ semantically encompasses two environmental and occupational safety. This requires treat- basic requirements—the physical and the economic dimen- ment in specialized, high-tech recycling facilities equipped sion. The physical dimension requires that materials actually with appropriate environmental technologies, which usually find their way into new products after the end of product life, cost more than recycling with poor performance and without as metal, alloy, or component. EoL products must therefore sufficient standards (often outside Europe). Products such not only be comprehensively collected but also subsequently as precious metal jewelry or automotive catalytic convert- fed into an efficient and high-quality recycling process chain. ers offer an attractive value proposition for recycling. By Only in this way can a wide range of materials and metals contrast, this incentive is lacking in the case of EoL elec- be recovered with high yields, in high quality (replacing tronics, which is also due to the high costs of the first col- primary materials), and under high environmental and labor lection stages. If consumers were better motivated to hand in standards. The physical cycle is in principle easier to close their old products at central collection points, e.g., through for simple products (e.g., glass bottles or aluminum cans) a deposit or leasing system, the logistics costs would drop than for complex, multi-material products such as electronic significantly. A corresponding adaptation of business mod- devices or cars. A clear focus on the quality and perfor- els can make the decisive difference here and create strong mance of the applied processes along the recycling chain is incentives to hand in old appliances. therefore crucial. The recycling industry has developed effi- However, collected EoL products do not automatically cient processes for mechanical pre-treatment and chemical- end up in efficient, state-of-the-art recycling processes. If metallurgical end-processing even for complex products. In the recycling price alone is the decisive criterion, without many cases, however, less costly but also far less efficient taking into account the recycling service quality actually processes are preferred. provided, cheaper, less efficient processes will get their way. The economic dimension of the circular economy consid- It is therefore important to have a binding requirement to ers the cost efficiency of this process chain. If the total costs use only recycling plants that demonstrably meet minimum of the recycling chain (including collection) are higher than recycling standards, such as those defined in the CEN 50625 the achievable revenues, no recycling will take place, unless series for waste electrical and electronic equipment (EU- the revenue gap can be closed in some other way. The more WEEE Directive 2013). complex a product is, the more technically demanding and Many EoL vehicles—often filled with electronic waste— cost-intensive its recycling is in terms of a physical circular are exported from Europe to West Africa, for example, 13 552 C. Hagelüken, D. Goldmann through dubious export channels (Adie et al. 2018). Even the performance of the applied processes are also impor- if some of these products are still in use, there is no high- tant for repair/reuse and recycling. A business model based quality recycling at the end of their life due to a lack of infra- on a product service approach (“using instead of owning”; structure and framework conditions. The economic driver leasing) creates an inherent economic interest in making for exports is not only the reuse value of some products or products durable, repairable, and recyclable. In addition, it components but also the “externalization” of the environ- generates a critical mass of EoL products for recycling. This mental and social costs of recycling. The focus is solely on reduces logistics costs and allows the lessor (manufacturer recovering a few valuable metals such as gold or copper or specialised product service provider) to contract recycling while pollutants are emitted. Even the most modern recy- services directly to certified, high-quality recyclers. cling plants that recover more materials and achieve higher In current practice, especially for consumer goods, the yields cannot compete economically here. Therefore, legisla- interface to the consumer is the main obstacle to a circu- tion and its enforcement are extremely important for creating lar economy. There is currently no real link between the a level playing field for responsible recycling. Only through value chain of product manufacture—left part of the dia- this can a physical cycle for a greater variety of metals and gram (Fig. 9) from raw material producer to retailer—and materials actually be established. the chain at the end of product life, from the collection point For product manufacturers, the responsible sourcing of to the final recycling process. For the transition from a linear raw materials has gained in importance. Driven also by pub- to a circular economy, suitable approaches to overcoming lic pressure from NGOs, it must increasingly be proven that the broken cycle must start at the consumer interface. The the raw materials in supplier parts are sourced “cleanly.” In pursuit of a physical circular economy will only be achiev- terms of the circular economy, however, it is just as impor- able through “business as unusual.” It requires new forms of tant to demonstrate “responsible recycling” along the entire cooperation between actors in the product life cycle, taking recycling chain at the end of a product’s life. into account the different influencing factors. Ultimately, it is about developing innovative circular business models that Success factors for a circular economy involve fundamental changes in the design, production, dis- tribution, use, and recycling of products. The extent to which product loops are closed in practice One key element in this context will be the creation of depends on various intrinsic and external factors. Intrin- more transparency on the real physical flows of products sic factors are the material value (e.g., metal content and and the materials contained in those, especially at product prices), product complexity and design (e.g., accessibility end-of-life. It needs the implementation of tools and frame- of batteries, ease of disassembly), applied business models work conditions for tracing and tracking of resource relevant especially B2C vs. B2B (e.g., leasing/product service sys- products along the product lifecycles. In a well-functioning tems), as well as the product attractiveness for a second use circular economy, so called “unallocated outflows” of prod- or transferability between users. ucts like old vehicles, electronic devices, or batteries can- External factors include, for example, collection infra- not be tolerated any more. Product passports which cover structure and logistics solutions, external incentives for col- both static data (product composition, responsible origin of lection and recycling (deposits, fees, producer responsibility materials, dismantling manuals, etc.) and dynamic data (use schemes, public procurement policies….), available recycling cycles, physical crossing of borders, certificate of authorized infrastructure as well as quality and cost-effectiveness of the recycling, etc.), as it is the case for our personal passports, recycling processes used (technical, environmental and social will play an important role for this. performance; available quantities/economies of scale), legis- lation, monitoring and enforcement, and cooperation between stakeholders (manufacturers, retailers, users, take-back sys- Recycling of lithium‑ion batteries tems, logistics, recyclers). The following are some examples of external factors that can be considered as external incen- The sustainable supply of the battery metals cobalt, nickel, tives for collection and recycling (Hagelüken 2017). lithium, manganese, and copper is a decisive factor for the In most cases, positive framework conditions for compre- success of electro mobility. The clear goal must be that hensive recycling go hand in hand with those for improving recycling and reuse of batteries increasingly represent an repair and reuse: for example, a product that is designed for important component of the raw material supply in the repair (e.g., replaceable battery) facilitates also the recy- future. As mentioned, an effective circular economy for cling by enabling the removal of single components (e.g., batteries can only be achieved if—in contrast to the cur- battery) and channeling these into the most suitable final rent situation with many consumer goods—spent batteries treatment processes. Transparency about the actual product can be collected comprehensively and fed into technically and material flows of EoL products as well as a focus on high-quality recycling processes. Various conclusions 13 Recycling and circular economy—towards a closed loop for metals in emerging clean technologies 553 Fig. 9  Current barriers to a physical circular economy for consumer goods (Hagelüken 2020a, b) from this discussed case on battery recycling can be trans- Economic requirements ferred as well to other products. Cost efficiency of the process chain: as a rule, high pro- cess stability and high throughput rates (“economies of Requirements for the recycling of lithium‑ion scale”) are decisive for this. batteries Handling large volume flows on an industrial scale. This applies both to the pre-treatment/disassembly of battery Decisive for this is legislation with ambitious recycling systems and to the metallurgical recycling of battery cells rates based on clear, target-compliant definitions and or cathode material. system boundaries, as well as their consistent enforce- Flexibility in dealing with different battery types and ment. The EU Commission’s draft Battery Regulation of chemical compositions. If processes are not able to pro- December 2020 (EU-COM 2020c, 798) is an important cess the different types of lithium-ion batteries (NMC, step in this direction. The following criteria are crucial NCA, LCO, …) and metal ratios (e.g., NMC 111, 622, for the development and use of the recycling processes 811) at the same time, this requires a cost-intensive pre- themselves: sorting process and leads to several parallel metallurgical recycling processes with correspondingly lower through- puts and higher fixed costs. Basic technical requirements High effective recycling rates of the functional metals Considerations on second life and recycling cobalt, nickel, lithium, and copper in relation to the entire approaches recycling chain (dismantling, mechanical pre-treatment, metallurgical recycling): The goal must be to obtain Recycling and circular economy for batteries from elec- a marketable, reusable raw material of high quality, tric vehicles (EVs) are often discussed controversially and because only then is the cycle actually physically closed. sometimes almost dogmatically, sometimes with too little Exclusive use of environmentally sound and energy- fact-based analysis and evidence-based empirical research. efficient recycling processes along the entire recycling Therefore, two of these controversial topics will be examined chain. in more detail below. High safety standards when handling battery systems The focus here is on the recycling of EoL batteries, and recycling materials, especially with regard to fire because—unlike the currently still quite high proportion hazards, residual electrical charges and the handling of of production rejects and batteries from test vehicles—the toxic components such as electrolytes. former will offer by far the greatest potential for recycling 13 554 C. Hagelüken, D. Goldmann in the future. It can be assumed that these spent batteries On the supplier side for 2nd life batteries (refurbish- will only be available after a period of about 10 years or ment/repair), highly professional, specialised structures even later from initial use. are required. This is linked to a number of requirements: Refurbishers for 2nd life batteries need secure access to Reuse and 2nd life versus recycling used batteries. Their input must be reliable and planna- ble. Today, the largest quantities of (conventional) EoL Assumptions about the proportion of EV batteries that vehicles accumulate at car recyclers, with an extremely can be used for a second use (“2nd life”) after the heterogeneous volume in terms of vehicle type, year of initial use vary widely. The range is 10–75%. In order manufacture and condition. Provided that no sorting to estimate what is ultimately realistically feasible in takes place in advance, e.g., through measures by car practice, it is necessary to take a closer look at the manufacturers or other specialised players, this will also various influencing parameters. Consideration must be apply to EoL EVs in the future. The variety of types and given to significant differences in the type of second- age structure of the batteries contained in them will be ary use, i.e., whether this takes place in the same or in correspondingly large. For refurbishers, this means a other applications. high degree of complexity in order to cost-effectively refurbish old batteries and make them available for the Batteries or battery modules that are used as spare parts various requirement profiles. for (older) EVs have a comparable technical require- In order to assess whether a used battery is still suit- ment profile; if necessary, a reduced battery capacity is able for economic secondary use, the refurbisher must also tolerated for cost reasons. They compete with more determine the remaining battery capacity. In addition, expensive new EV batteries of the current generation. the refurbisher needs access to relevant battery use data The greatest potential for secondary use is generally such as the number of charging cycles, deep discharges/ seen in stationary applications (e.g., home storage, defects, or “state of health.” These and other data are nor- energy storage, load balancing,…). For all these sta- mally stored in the battery management system but are tionary applications, the requirement profile, e.g., in not accessible to third parties without the corresponding terms of dynamics or energy density, is different from interfaces and activation by the OEM. that in electric vehicles. They compete with stationary For testing, repair, and marketing, a profound battery storage batteries specially designed for this application, know-how is required, including knowledge of electro- which in many cases also manage with less expensive chemistry. Without this, neither safe repair can be guar- battery chemistries, e.g., LFP (lithium-iron phosphate). anteed nor can the purchaser of the 2nd life battery be It is questionable how sensible it is, for example, to use assured of long-term stable and hazard-free use. a first-generation battery with a high cobalt content for In addition to the aforementioned safe input of used bat- many more years in a stationary application, instead of teries, the refurbisher also needs access to user markets directly recycling it to a high quality after initial use, for automotive and stationary secondary applications making the battery metals it contains available for new (output). The prerequisites for this are good market batteries and instead using LFP types that are not criti- knowledge and reliable, long-term customer relation- cal for stationary applications. ships. In all 2nd life approaches for old batteries, batteries Finally, sufficient legal certainty is of crucial importance that are about 10 years old compete with the latest gen- for all players involved. This includes questions of war- eration of batteries. ranty and liability (who is liable, for example, in the event of a building fire caused by a 2nd life battery?), 2nd life is an extension of battery use. This can but also the transfer of the recycling obligation from the reduce specific costs and the ecological footprint of OEM via the refurbisher to the end user in the second the battery, which is a decisive advantage of second life. use. However, this only applies if the batteries are com- pletely collected after the second use phase and fed into Even if under these requirements a large proportion of high-quality recycling processes. This requires inte- old EV batteries could be remanufactured for second life in grated concepts and transparent material flows across the future, a profitable business model in the long term only all use and after-use phases. could be established if demand for (stationary) 2nd life bat- What does all this mean for recycling structures and teries develops accordingly. This is possible in the market business models? ramp-up phase of electro mobility. However, it will become 13 Recycling and circular economy—towards a closed loop for metals in emerging clean technologies 555 less likely when large quantities of old EV batteries start of innovation in battery chemistry is high and is likely to accumulating in the mid-2030s. remain so. Although 2nd life is an important topic, it will probably only be feasible for a part of the future old batteries. In cur- In contrast, metal recycling has the following advantages rent 2nd life projects, there is usually direct cooperation when high-quality metallurgical processes are used: between car manufacturers and 2nd life users, the batteries for which come from the OEMs’ own fleets. Availability, Metals such as Co, Ni, Cu, or Li can be recovered ele- data access, and legal security can be well regulated bilater- mentally or as metal salts with comparable qualities to ally here. In future, however, the large quantities will come primary metals and traded at the same prices. They are from EoL vehicles, to which OEMs will not have direct “universally” marketable for new battery materials, but access without changes to the business models. The current in principle also for all other applications of the metal. structures for recycling are also unsuitable in the context In recent years, there has been an increasing substitution of future market requirements for 2nd life. New business of Co by Ni in the cathode material; in the widespread models and cooperative ventures involving OEMs, battery NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) cathode, after an initial manufacturers, and/or battery asset management specialists equal distribution, there is now up to 8 times more Ni will be required. than Co (NMC 111 → 532 → 622 → 811). Accordingly, the recycling of high-Co batteries of the early genera- tions can disproportionately cover the Co demand for Composite recycling versus metal recycling new generations. It is also discussed whether recycling processes should In summary, metal recycling is likely to be the dominant focus on the recovery of individual battery metals such as solution for EV batteries at the end of life, while composite cobalt, nickel, lithium, copper, aluminum, and manganese material recycling can develop as a (sensible) niche busi- or on the recovery of battery composite materials such as ness for production scrap and replacement components for cathode, anode material or electrolyte. At first glance, com- battery repair. By analogy, a comparison can be made with posite material recovery appears to be advantageous, as in the recycling of electronic products. Even if it were possi- this case the cycle would be closed at a higher value-added ble to dismantle circuit boards from early-generation smart- stage. However, various conditions apply to the recyclates: phones intact and in large quantities, they would not be of interest to a smartphone manufacturer today. There is no The added value can only be realized if there is actually sales market for the product “old circuit board.” However, a market for recycled materials as an input into current there is a demand to extract the metals gold, silver, pal- battery production or comparable applications. ladium, copper, tin, etc. from it. The principle applies that The sales opportunities for recycled materials are limited recyclates without a market are,worthless both economi- by high-quality requirements, a prerequisite for the pro- cally and ecologically. duction of new batteries with good performance. Realistically, with these preconditions, composite mate- Working group traction batteries of the Circular rial recycling is conceivable for production scrap but not Economy Initiative Germany very likely for old EV batteries. Because: Although larger quantities of used EV batteries will only Due to years of operation and chemical-physical ageing be available towards the end of the decade, it is important processes, it is difficult (expensive) to recover, e.g., cath- to start developing business models and setting up the cor- ode material, in a quality comparable to new material. responding take-back, repair, and recycling structures today. The variety of types described above for the collection of Within the Circular Economy Initiative Germany (CEID) old EV batteries would require a very large (pre-) sorting launched by acatech (National Academy of Science and effort to enable sufficient material purity. Only if separate Engineering) in 2019, the working group “Traction Batter- material recycling campaigns were run for each battery ies,” in which scientists, OEMs, component manufacturers, type could mixing and contamination be avoided. This recyclers, logistics, and service companies work together, leads to considerable additional costs for collection/pre- is dealing with this topic. In October 2020, the final report sorting and recycling (reduced process throughput). “Resource-efficient battery cycles” was published (CEID Even if high quality is achieved, the recycled materials, 2020). The entire battery life cycle (without raw material which would then be approx. 10 years old, are hardly extraction and residual waste disposal) was considered suitable for the current generation of batteries. The pace (Fig. 10). 13 556 C. Hagelüken, D. Goldmann Fig. 10  Scope and pilot projects of the CEID working group on traction batteries (CEID 2020) A common vision for 2030 was developed, three pilot might require “creative” calculation methods to fulfil profiles to support implementation (knowledge of battery these. One key factor here is the quality of recyclates life; model-based decision platform; disassembly net- and the interplay between quantity and quality. In many work), recommendations for action for politics, industry cases the achievement of higher quantities when recy- and science, and a roadmap for short-, medium-, and long- cling a specific product causes lower qualities of the term implementation. In addition, key topics are explored recyclate—and hence can be counter-productive to the in depth in excurses (Covid 19, 2nd Life, Quantified Mate- physical requirements of the circular economy. rial Flow Analysis, Definitions and Recycling Targets, The CEID working group also proposed recovery rates Financial Incentives/Deposit Systems). for aluminum and steel, addressing the importance to Clear definitions of key terms and the unambiguous have sound recycling solutions for these metals used in definition of system boundaries are important, as this is battery and module casings. the only way to achieve ambitious recycling rates in prac- Neither the battery regulation nor CEID is proposing tice (cf. Sect. Basic definitions, system boundaries, and recovery rates for manganese or graphite. The reason is calculation of recycling rates). As in the draft EU Battery that there are no mature industrial recycling processes Regulation, the report also calls for specific recycling rates known which are capable of economically recovering for important battery metals (Fig. 11). When comparing the CEID recommendations with the recovery rates in the draft battery regulation, some differ- ences appear: The regulation proposes recovery rates 2026/2030 for Co, Ni, and Co of 90%/95% (so 5% higher) while for Li they are with 35%/70% somewhat lower. However, the recovery rates proposed by the CEID working group are based on the clear definitions and calcula- tion method as described in the “Basic economics of recycling” section, while in the draft regulation the cal- culation method is not yet defined. We regard it as more important to call for recovery rates which really cover the entire recycling chain (pre- and end-processing) Fig. 11  Proposed metal specific recycling rates of CEID working and are physically achievable in industrial praxis than group traction batteries, based on clear definitions and calculation to aim for seemingly higher legal recovery rates which methods (CEID 2020) 13 Recycling and circular economy—towards a closed loop for metals in emerging clean technologies 557 these materials in a battery grade quality and without the global value chain of a product, resource efficiency in having a detrimental impact on the recovery rates for Ni, terms of energy, and raw material use is of central impor- Co, and Li. As described in the “Technological basics— tance (Wellmer et al. 2018). the recycling chain for (complex) metal containing prod- Raw material sourcing, product design, business models ucts” section, complex material mixes often require some for product distribution and use, as well as repair, reuse, prioritization of the target materials to recycle. transparent waste streams and recycling all play a key role and are interlinked. The circular economy can address these Out of the various recommendations to policy, industry, complex interrelationships from an overarching system and science the following 9 central ones were identified in perspective, where the system boundaries encompass the the CEID working group: entire product life cycle. Without new forms of interaction between the actors along the product value chain, it will not Provision of battery data over the entire battery lifecycle be possible to optimize the overall system towards greater (battery passport; linked to pilot topic “knowledge of bat- total resource efficiency. Previous attempts of optimization tery life”) have mostly been limited to the interface between “supplier Strengthening trans-/interdisciplinary education, training, and customer.” However, since in most cases the sum of and research for the circular economy the individual optima is not that of the overall system, this Design for circularity, including modularity, better recy- approach will no longer be sufficient in the future. In a cir- clability, and reuse cular economy in the sense of the word, all actors in the Set-up of a physical infrastructure for revers logistics and product life cycle are simultaneously supplier and customer. dismantling of batteries (linked to pilot topic “disassem- There can no longer be simple “upstream” or “downstream” bly network for batteries”) perspectives; all economic actors will need to develop a Setting ambitious, binding recycling rates and further “roundstream” strategy. Longer-term strategic cooperation definitions and standards in the context of a harmonized between manufacturers and recyclers with a strong service national and transnational regulatory framework component will thus gain in importance. Development of digital tools to support optimal EoL Electro mobility is an ideal test case for the circular econ- applications of batteries (linked to pilot topic “model- omy and to develop solutions for practical use: based decision platform”) Embedding in renewable energy systems and multiple Safe and responsible sourcing of essential battery raw use (sharing concepts) materials such as cobalt, nickel, lithium, manganese and Development of effective incentive systems to ensure copper as well as graphite is key to the success of electro transformation mobility. Development of relevant metrics, measurement methods, Without closing the loop for most of these functional and tools for the systemic assessment of optimal circular battery metals, the sustainable supply of raw materials economy and the environmental benefits of electro mobility are at risk. Efficient processes for recycling the most important met- Electro mobility—the ideal test case als from batteries are already under development. for a circular economy Without the creation of suitable incentives and frame- work conditions, the comprehensive collection of EoL The rapid development of the market for electric vehicles electric vehicles and batteries and their high-quality recy- will have a significant impact on the demand for raw materi- cling cannot be guaranteed. als. The most important political driver for electro mobil- “Business as usual” will not be sufficient to meet the ity and other green technologies is the fight against climate challenges of sustainable electro mobility. New business change. While this is intended to reduce the cons