Lithium-ion battery recycling recovers lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, copper and aluminum from spent cells and manufacturing scrap, usually by discharging and shredding batteries into a powder called black mass and then extracting metals by smelting (pyrometallurgy) or chemical leaching (hydrometallurgy) (IEA, Recycling of Critical Minerals, 2024). A third route, direct recycling, aims to restore the cathode compound itself rather than breaking it down to metals. Which route makes economic sense depends heavily on cathode chemistry, which is why low-value lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells are harder to recycle profitably than nickel- and cobalt-rich ones.

• Recycling has two main stages: pretreatment (discharge, dismantling, shredding, sorting) that produces black mass, and material recovery that turns black mass into battery-grade salts (IEA 2024).
• Pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy are complementary: smelting tolerates mixed feed but burns off graphite and sends lithium to slag; leaching yields battery-grade products but needs cleaner feed (IEA 2024).
• Direct recycling relithiates and reuses cathode particles, preserving embodied value, but must be tailored to each chemistry (Bai et al., ORNL).
• LFP is the economic challenge: it made up around 40% of EV batteries deployed in 2023, and its black mass is valued almost entirely on lithium content (IEA 2024).
• EU law now sets hard targets: 50% lithium recovery by the end of 2027 and 80% by the end of 2031, plus minimum recycled content for EV, industrial and starter batteries (European Parliament, 2023).
• Capacity is concentrated: China accounted for 80% of global pretreatment and material recovery capacity in 2023 (IEA 2024).

Why recycle lithium-ion batteries?

The cathode is the most valuable part of a lithium-ion cell, and the metals in it are concentrated in a few supply chains. In 2024, the Democratic Republic of the Congo produced an estimated 220,000 of the world's roughly 290,000 tonnes of mined cobalt (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025, Cobalt). Recycling creates a secondary supply that is located where batteries are used rather than where ore is mined.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that, in a scenario where countries meet their announced climate pledges, battery recycling could supply 20–30% of lithium, nickel and cobalt demand by 2050, and that recycling reduces new mine development needs by about 40% for copper and cobalt and close to 25% for lithium and nickel (IEA 2024). The same report finds that recycled nickel, cobalt and lithium incur on average 80% less greenhouse gas emissions than primary material from mining. Policy can make the difference: the IEA notes that lead-acid batteries reach a 99% recycling rate in the United States despite their low residual value.

Today, much of the feed is not end-of-life batteries at all. Manufacturing scrap from gigafactories and cathode plants still accounts for two-thirds of available recycling feedstock in 2030 in the IEA's projection, with end-of-life EV and storage batteries becoming the largest source from 2035 and exceeding 90% of feedstock by 2050 (IEA 2024).

How does battery recycling work, step by step?

1. Collection and discharge. Batteries are collected and discharged to minimize electrical and thermal hazards before handling (IEA 2024).
2. Dismantling. Packs are opened and the housing, battery management system, cooling hardware and electronics are removed to reach modules or cells.
3. Thermal and mechanical pretreatment. Cells are shredded and sorted by size, density, magnetism and conductivity. Copper and aluminum current collectors are often recovered here, and thermal steps remove organic electrolyte and binder residues (IEA 2024).
4. Black mass. The result is a fine powder of cathode and anode material containing nickel, cobalt, lithium, manganese and graphite, which may still carry copper and aluminum particles and residual electrolyte (IEA 2024).
5. Material recovery. Black mass (or whole cells, in the case of smelting) is converted into metals and battery-grade compounds by pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, or a combination.

What is black mass and how is it priced?

Black mass is the main traded intermediate of the recycling industry. Its composition mirrors the cathode chemistries that went in: black mass from nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cells is rich in nickel and cobalt, while LFP black mass contains lithium, iron and phosphate. In China, the most developed market, black mass is typically priced as a percentage ("payable") of virgin battery-grade metal spot prices; as of September 2024, payables for nickel and cobalt black mass in the United States were estimated at around 65–70% (IEA 2024). LFP black mass is priced differently, using fixed values based on lithium content, because lithium is its only valuable component. Black mass made from manufacturing scrap commands higher prices because it contains more cathode material and fewer impurities.

Pyrometallurgy vs hydrometallurgy vs direct recycling

Pyrometallurgy

Pyrometallurgy smelts batteries or black mass in a high-temperature furnace. For NMC chemistries, cobalt, nickel and copper report to a metal alloy, while aluminum, lithium and silicon end up in slag. All the carbon from graphite is burned and cannot be recovered. Because it needs little pretreatment, whole cells and modules can be fed directly, but the alloy still requires hydrometallurgical refining to produce battery-grade salts, and lithium yields from slag are typically lower, although newer processes recover lithium from flue dust (IEA 2024).

Hydrometallurgy

Hydrometallurgy uses chemical leaching and purification steps to dissolve black mass and precipitate individual metal products. It can produce battery-grade products directly, such as lithium carbonate (Li2CO3), nickel sulfate (NiSO4), cobalt sulfate and manganese sulfate (IEA 2024). Graphite recovery routes exist but are less mature than recovery of lithium, nickel and cobalt. The trade-off is feed quality: hydrometallurgy cannot take whole cells and has limits on impurities such as copper and aluminum.

Direct (cathode-to-cathode) recycling

Direct recycling separates cathode powder from foils and anode material and then repairs it. Cathodes degrade mainly through lithium loss and surface phase changes, so regeneration restores lithium to the structure by solid-state sintering with a lithium source, hydrothermal treatment in a lithium solution followed by annealing, or electrochemical and chemical relithiation (Bai et al., ORNL). In one cited example, spent LiCoO2 heated with Li2CO3 at 900 °C for 12 h delivered a discharge capacity of about 152 mAh/g, close to commercial material (for why LiCoO2 itself is fading from EV use, see why LiCoO2 fails as a next-generation EV cathode); LiFePO4 was regenerated by sintering with Li2CO3 at 650 °C for 1 h; and hydrothermal relithiation has been demonstrated on LCO, NMC111, NMC532 and NMC622 (Bai et al.).

The appeal is economic: making cathode is the main value-adding step, and NMC cathode material has been estimated at around 10 times more valuable than the equivalent amount of pure metals (Bai et al.). The drawbacks are inflexibility and obsolescence. Each chemistry needs its own process, inputs must be sorted to a single chemistry, and by the time an EV battery reaches end of life its cathode formulation may be outdated, although methods to upgrade chemistries such as NMC333 to NMC811 are being developed (IEA 2024). For now, direct recycling is best suited to clean manufacturing scrap; companies cited by the IEA as working on it include Farasis Energy, Kyburz and Brunp (a CATL subsidiary), and in 2024 Toyota signed an agreement for Argonne National Laboratory to apply its direct recycling process to Toyota cells.

Table synthesized from IEA (2024) and Bai et al.

What materials are recovered from a lithium-ion battery?

• Cathode metals: nickel, cobalt and manganese from layered oxides such as LiNiO2-derived NMC and NCA, and manganese from spinel cathodes such as LiMn2O4.
• Lithium: recovered as carbonate, hydroxide or sulfate, mainly by hydrometallurgy.
• Copper and aluminum: from current collectors, usually separated during pretreatment.
• Graphite: lost in smelting; recoverable in principle by hydrometallurgical routes still in early development (IEA 2024).
• Iron and phosphate: present in LFP but of low value relative to processing cost.

Why is LFP battery recycling harder to make profitable?

LFP cathodes contain no nickel or cobalt. The IEA reports that LFP made up around 40% of EV batteries deployed in 2023 and expects that share to stay high, which affects recycling economics because of LFP's lower material value (IEA 2024). Process choice also matters environmentally: in the IEA's GREET-based comparison, pyrometallurgy had 5% lower greenhouse gas emissions and 70% lower water use than hydrometallurgy for NMC 811, but almost five times higher emissions for LFP.

The IEA argues that LFP recycling will need tailored business models, such as toll-based recycling, backed by regulation that keeps LFP batteries out of landfills (IEA 2024). Direct recycling, which preserves the value of the synthesized olivine compound rather than only its lithium, is one technical response. For background on the chemistry trade-off, see LFP vs NMC battery cathodes.

What does the EU Battery Regulation require?

Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 entered into force on 17 August 2023 and applies in phases (European Commission). Its recycling-related targets include:

• Recycling efficiency for lithium-based batteries: 65% by 31 December 2025 and 70% by 31 December 2030 (European Commission, 2026).
• Material recovery: lithium 50% by 2027 and 80% by 2031; cobalt, copper, lead and nickel 90% by 2027 and 95% by 2031 (European Parliament, 2023).
• Minimum recycled content for EV batteries, SLI (starter) batteries and industrial batteries above 2 kWh: 16% cobalt, 85% lead, 6% lithium and 6% nickel from 18 August 2031, rising to 26% cobalt, 85% lead, 12% lithium and 15% nickel from 18 August 2036, when light means of transport batteries are also covered. The cobalt, lithium and nickel shares apply to active materials (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Article 8; European Parliament, 2023).
• Collection of portable batteries: 63% by 2027 and 73% by 2030; light means of transport batteries: 51% by 2028 and 61% by 2031 (European Parliament, 2023).

In September 2026 the Commission reviewed the recycling efficiency and material recovery targets and concluded they remain appropriate, finding no grounds for revision (European Commission, 2026).

Where is battery recycling capacity located?

In 2023, global pretreatment and material recovery capacity grew 50% year on year, with China accounting for 80% of both; the project pipeline puts China on track to hold 80% of pretreatment and 75% of material recovery capacity in 2030 (IEA 2024). If all announced projects are built, global capacity in 2030 could exceed available feedstock more than sixfold, but the balance tightens after 2030 as EVs retire, and in Europe and the United States announced capacity covers only 30% of feedstock by 2040.

Frequently asked questions

What is black mass in battery recycling?

Black mass is the powder left after spent cells are discharged, shredded and sorted. It contains the cathode and anode materials, including nickel, cobalt, lithium and graphite, and is the main feedstock for hydrometallurgical recovery (IEA 2024).

What is direct recycling of batteries?

Direct recycling recovers cathode particles and restores lost lithium so the material can go back into new cells without being broken down into metal salts. It is chemistry-specific and best suited today to sorted manufacturing scrap.

Can lithium be recovered from batteries?

Yes. Hydrometallurgy can produce battery-grade lithium carbonate, and newer smelting processes recover lithium from flue dust (IEA 2024). The EU requires 50% lithium recovery by the end of 2027 (European Parliament).

Is battery recycling better for the environment than mining?

On average, recycled nickel, cobalt and lithium incur about 80% less greenhouse gas emissions than mined primary material, according to the IEA (IEA 2024). The best route depends on chemistry and process.

Why are LFP batteries less attractive to recyclers?

They contain no nickel or cobalt, so lithium is the only valuable component of their black mass, and recovery revenue is lower relative to processing cost.

Exploring cathode materials on LatticeGraph

LatticeGraph aggregates computed (DFT) structures and stability data, literature synthesis recipes and related patents for cathode compounds. Browse the layered lithium oxides and olivine phosphate cathodes classes to compare the materials that recycling processes aim to recover or regenerate.