The latest technology insight report by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) presents a comprehensive analysis of innovation in battery circularity, covering the collection and sorting of used batteries as well as recycling, recovery and repurposing technologies. As battery circularity is intended to reduce dependency on critical materials that must first be mined and refined, a section of the report investigates the innovation landscape surrounding battery metal refining too.

As global battery demand continues to surge, the number of end-of-life batteries from electric vehicles alone is expected to grow from 1.2 million in 2030 to 14 million by 2040. Battery circularity technologies enable the reuse and recycling of these batteries and, as with battery technologies more generally, Asia currently leads the way. At the same time, there has been significant growth in European innovations. Combined with recent EU policy initiatives to foster industrial investment and targeted scaling, this offers opportunities to diversify supply chains, achieve greater sustainability and strengthen technological sovereignty, as the clean-energy transition enters a new phase of development.

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Source: Inventions for battery reuse and recycling increase more than seven-fold in last decade | Monaco Industrial Property Office