Scrap lithium-nickel manganese cobalt oxide battery - NMC
- Longer life and inherent safety
- Cobalt is scarce and expensive
- Less prone to heating
- Used in power tools, e-bikes and electric power trains
- Lower energy density (95-130) Wh/Kg
NMC lithium-ion battery volume is the target for most recyclers as it has the highest value and biggest prospects going forward with cell production growth for Electric Vehicles going out to 2030 and beyond. The market is forecast to be bigger than >1,000 GWh by 2030 – 30% of which is in Europe & USA
NMC lithium battery recycling is set to reach US$422 m in 2020 rising to US$3 bn by 2025. With the large increase in cell production expected in the next decade, primary scrap from production is a major opportunity for recyclers globally.
In order to win valuable contracts with cell makers, capacity needs to be established and this will take at least another 5-7 years in Europe. Asian recyclers are set to win as they are in a position to process at scale now. Local facilities will begin to appear in Europe in the next 2-3 years.
NMC 811 will be the global LIB trend – this made CATL the giant producer it is today compared to BYD who focuses on LFP and 622. Two chemistries of lithium ion batteries dominate electric vehicle batteries – Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt “NMC” and Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum “NCA”. As between the two chemistries, NMC is used by nearly every automobile maker in the world save it for Tesla. For at least the next decade, the evolution of the lithium ion battery and its NMC chemistry is towards a more nickel rich cathode.
