Electric Vehicle Used Battery Recycling Market Approaching 60 Trillion Won by 2030

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] The electric vehicle (EV) used battery recycling market is expected to reach 60 trillion KRW by 2030.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

SNE Research announced on the 13th that the global number of scrapped electric vehicles will reach 4.11 million units in 2030 and 42.27 million units in 2040. Accordingly, the capacity of used batteries is expected to be 338 GWh in 2030 and 3,339 GWh in 2040.

The used battery recycling market, based on metals, is estimated to grow to 1.436 million tons in 2030 and 5.009 million tons in 2040. In terms of value, it is projected to be $53.569 billion (approximately 60 trillion KRW) in 2030 and $174.12 billion (approximately 200 trillion KRW) in 2040.

SNE Research pointed out, "As the adoption of electric vehicles expands, the issue of handling used batteries generated from EVs is becoming prominent."

Currently, EV batteries are made of lithium-ion batteries, and most of the lithium-ion battery price is accounted for by the cathode material cost. The main minerals for cathode materials?nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium?are highly dependent on imports, but battery recycling can reduce import dependence on these key materials.

Additionally, battery recycling can reduce carbon dioxide emissions, making it environmentally essential. In particular, Europe plans to mandate used battery recycling through battery regulations.

SNE Research explained, "The battery recycling market can be divided into recycling of used batteries and recycling of scrap waste generated during battery production," adding, "In South Korea, used battery recycling is being led by Sungil HiTech, along with POSCO, EcoPro, and Korea Zinc."