The boom in lithium batteries: safe recycling needs to keep up
The protection of used lithium (Li-ion) batteries is becoming a key factor in the energy transition. The more recyclable batteries are manufactured and the shorter their usage cycles become, the more important their safe recycling gets. The Fraunhofer Institute has forecast that the EU-wide demand for new batteries will amount to approximately 2.5 megatons by 2030. This, in turn, will create a necessity to recycle approximately 1,500 kilotons of waste Li-ion batteries and battery components every year from 2040 onwards. In this context, the new EU Batteries Regulation expands the requirements regarding the quality assurance in the value chain – including the storage and transporting of batteries – with effect from 02/18/2024.
Due to their high energy density, used Li-ion batteries can pose fire and environmental risks – which are often caused by their improper collection, storage and transport. Even minor mechanical damage can trigger cases of spontaneous combustion, resulting in serious environmental damage. In Germany alone, some 50 percent of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) ends up in the household waste by mistake or is disposed of illegally. And then there are the major fires that are occurring almost every week and placing a major strain on the waste management industry. New risks aren’t just arising for the recycling plants, but also for town and city centers, car parks, sea ferries and aviation.
The new EU Batteries Regulation
In response to the rapidly increasing demand for batteries of all categories (portable and all-purpose batteries, starter batteries, LV batteries, electric vehicle batteries, industrial batteries), the European Union has created a new harmonized legal framework: The EU Batteries Regulation (BATT2) has been in force for all EU Member States from 02/18/2024 and replaces the Batteries Directive. It aims to improve the environmental performance of batteries and the activities of all the stakeholders involved in their life cycle (manufacturers, distributors, end users) – especially at the stages that are directly involved in the handling and recycling. The extended due diligence obligations range from manufacturing to recycling and disposal.
Key risks
While battery production has a high level of safety and the risks of fire from electric batteries in electric vehicles may generally be classified as low, risks arise in the areas of second use, uses that are not authorized by manufacturers and during transport. In this context, it is important that batteries with different histories and different safety behavior must never be mixed. Whenever high-energy batteries are charged, installed in external systems, subjected to excessive voltages or damaged, their risk potential increases.
According to the Batteries Regulation, waste batteries may neither be disposed of nor used for energy purposes. To ensure that the batteries can be recycled using appropriate processes – including in the preliminary stages – their separate collection should be expanded and guaranteed as far as possible. In this respect, the key factor is ensuring the non-destructive and break-proof acceptance of WEEE at the collection and transfer points. This provides the basis for high-quality processing and is the prerequisite for the safe and successful distribution of both batteries and storage capacities.
Consequences for storage:
Quality assurance systems are to be designed in such a way that the requirements set out in Part A of Annex XII to the Batteries Regulation are also complied with. For storage, this means (extract):
- Storage at locations with impermeable surfaces and a suitable weatherproof cover or in suitable containers,
- Waste batteries must be stored in all facilities in such a way that they are not mixed with waste conductive or flammable materials,
- Safety measures must be taken to prevent excessive heat, direct sunlight, precipitation, crushing, etc.
Consequences for transport:
For the transport of Li-ion waste batteries, the requirements according to certification as a waste disposal specialist or according to the German Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) and Batteries Act (BattG) remain relevant at the practical level. In this context, the LAGA (German Federal/State Working Group on Waste) implementation guidelines M31A to the ElektroG contains specifications and information concerning the relevant special regulations on how waste electrical equipment (containing undamaged or damaged Li-ion batteries) should be transported for intermediate processing, disposal or recycling.
DEKRA supports
The electrification and development of batteries is increasingly dependent on safe closed loops in the disposal and recycling chain. In the time of the sustainable transformation, the systematic monitoring of risky processes is also becoming more important than ever before – and with it, the management and updating of all the necessary regulations and documentation. For this reason, a risk management system is required which is able to take dynamic market conditions and risk situations into account on an ongoing basis.
Companies should use their management systems to review and strengthen the resilience in the supply chain and company processes, including in terms of battery-related risk situations. Suitable structures here are, for example, those based on international standards such as EN ISO 9001 et seq. (quality management), ISO 14001 et seq. (environmental management) and the Ordinance on Specialist Waste Management Companies (EfbV).
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