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EV battery: China powers Asia in race to ramp up recycling capacity as industry tests new method to overcome pollution problems
- China, home to Tesla’s biggest challengers, accounts for 77 per cent of the EV battery-recycling capacities in Asia
- The dominant pyrometallurgy is likely to be the mainstay metal-recovery method for the next three years before a cleaner hydrometallurgy way takes hold
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China is powering Asian countries in the race to ramp up capacity to recycle retired electric-vehicle (EV) batteries, with new technologies being deployed to tackle environmental shortcomings, according to industry experts.
The region has an annual capacity to process 43.5 gigawatts-hours of spent EV batteries based on existing facilities and those in the pipeline, according to a report published by Fitch Solutions. This compared to 40.9 GWh in Europe and 26.3 GWh in the US.
China, home to Tesla’s biggest challengers, is living up to its ranking as the world’s biggest EV market by contributing 33.7 GWh of the capacity in the region. South Korea and India provided most of the remaining recycling facilities, according to the November 26 report.
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“We expect China’s battery-recycling capacity to grow exponentially over the next decade to manage the vast number of retired EV batteries,” said Phoebe O’Hara, an autos associate analyst of the firm’s country risk and industry research group.
EV makers like BYD Co, Nio, XPeng and Li Auto are likely to announce their plans over the next year to either build new facilities or expand existing ones, she told the Post separately in an email.
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