This report regards the fate of the lithium-ion batteries used in vehicles in the Nordic countries. There are only very few large vehicle batteries that are worn out today, but about approximately 40,000 from e-bikes which are very much smaller. Based on the life length of batteries in current electric cars, the current flows of new batteries (2015–2018) are the ones that will be available for recycling in 2025–2030. They are, however, quickly out-shadowed by the projected increase in number of car batteries on the market, growing from around 0.5 million units 2018 to 4 million units by 2030. The report presents scenarios of amounts of batteries used for second-use after the use in the cars and describes different options for recycling including research in the field.
This study made for the Nordic Council of Ministers regards the current and future flows of used lithium-ion batteries in vehicles, thus how much that are currently collected, re-used and recycled in the Nordic countries and the trends for the future.