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| Resource recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries: technologies, challenges, and trends |
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Received:September 19, 2025
Revised:November 16, 2025
Accepted:December 04, 2025
Published Online:April 30, 2026
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| DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1005-7854.2026.02.021 |
| KeyWord:spent lithium-ion batteries;recycling technology;resource recovery;pretreatment;cathode metal recovery;direct regeneration;green metallurgy;industrialization challenges |
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| 1.Collaborative Innovation Center for New Energy Key Materials of Kunming Metallurgy College, Kunming 650300, China;2.Design and Research Institute Co. Ltd., Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650032, China;3.Kunming Essence Engineering Technology Co., Ltd., Kunming 650056, China |
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| Abstract: |
| The continuous intensification of global warming has made reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting the transition to clean energy a global consensus and an urgent priority. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been widely adopted in electric vehicles and energy storage systems due to their advantages such as high energy density and long cycle life. However, their large-scale deployment has led to a surge in the number of spent batteries, posing severe challenges for recycling and treatment. Spent LIBs are rich in strategic metals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt, holding significant resource value and recovery potential. Nevertheless, existing mainstream recycling processes (e.g., pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy) commonly suffer from bottlenecks such as high energy consumption, heavy pollution, and economic dependence on metal prices, making it difficult to meet the development demands of green, low-carbon practices and resource circulation. Therefore, developing efficient, environmentally friendly, and economically viable next-generation recycling technologies has become a current research focus. In recent years, green alternative processes such as fluorine-free and intelligent pretreatment, organic acid/biological leaching, deep eutectic solvents, and direct regeneration have been emerging one after another, driving the development of recycling technologies toward greenization, refinement and closed-loop circulation. This paper systematically reviews the current status of recycling technologies for spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), covering key links such as pretreatment and resource recovery of cathode metals (pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and direct regeneration), and conducts comparative analysis on different methods. On this basis, it discusses the existing shortcomings in current research, such as reaction mechanisms, solvent recycling, and scale-up challenges, as well as the practical industrial obstacles like disassembly and sorting, cost control, and lack of standards. Finally, the future development pathways are prospected from the perspectives of technological breakthroughs and other aspects, aiming to provide a systematic reference for promoting the innovation of LIBs recycling technologies and the sustainable development of the industry. |
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