Without Lithium batteries, the currently growing low-carbon technology revolution would come to a grinding halt. Li-ion technology powers our transition from fossil fuels to renewables, in our collective quest as a species to deter or undo climate change.
The demand for Li-ion batteries is expected to grow 11x between 2020 and 2030, Such growth necessitates solid regulations from governments everywhere.
The issues that plague Li-ion ecosystem: While the switch to battery power is more sustainable than oil, there are also many parallels to fossil fuels in terms of pollutant potential and resource disparity. If we only trade one problem for another, then we have failed to be sustainable. That’s why lithium recycling is absolutely critical to sustainable energy storage, as it solves the following issues:
Depletion of critical battery metals: Battery materials critical to meet rising energy storage needs require labour, energy, and carbon-intensive refining, rendering massive environmental and humanitarian costs. Lithium recycling directly impacts the mining needs of the industry by recirculating reclaimed critical metals from recycled batteries back into the supply chain.
Rising battery waste: Millions of used lithium-ion batteries enter the waste stream, of which the majority currently end up in landfills or worse, toxifying the surrounding land, water, and potentially, air, if burnt. Integrated battery reuse and recycling companies like Lohum make it much simpler and cost effective to safely reuse or recycle.
Geo-disparity of battery raw materials: Even as newer economies strive to upscale production and tackle battery waste, the core issue remains the concentration of natural reserves and refining capacities in a few resource-rich nations, lending geo-economic advantage to a select few.
Every nation needs to develop self-reliance in energy storage, and domestic battery manufacturing can be powered up by fostering a robust circular-economy of battery raw materials.
Lack of a reverse logistics ecosystem: At the end of its life, a typical Lithium-ion battery changes hands many times, and jumps through logistics hoops that shouldn’t be there. We need reliable reverse logistics for end-of-life batteries, and make it the norm for OEMs to recover and become responsible for the batteries they manufactured.
Lack of transparency in refining & recycling: The LIB refining, recycling, and production industry is currently opaque, hiding processes that are anything but environment- and human-friendly. It is not just the mining activities which are suspect, but processes used in refining, production, as well as recycling, leave much to be desired.
Lohum’s role in the sustainable Li-ion Battery Ecosystem: The path to zero-carbon and carbon-neutral is marred by waste LIBs, and we cannot traverse it unless we use every gram of resources in a sustainable, closed-loop way.
Our view is that with the right technology we can make battery materials 100 per cent sustainable, and in doing so, drastically reduce costs and the environmental impact.
That’s why Lohum was founded in 2018, with the mission to become the world’s largest producer of sustainable battery raw materials through recycling, repurposing, and low-carbon refining.
Every nation needs to develop self-reliance in energy storage, and domestic battery manufacturing can be powered up by fostering a robust circular-economy of battery raw materials
Today, the carbon footprint of producing a Li-ion battery can be as high as 200 kg CO2e per KWh of capacity. That, along with the aforementioned issues, can really dent the credibility of the battery ecosystem.
We save 50+ kgs of CO2e per KWh of recycled battery capacity vs mining and also save 200+ kgs of CO2e per KWh of reused battery capacity vs mining. Also, mining consumes 500,000 litres of water per tonne of battery materials produced. We consume less than one-tenth that in recycling and reuse.
Over the last three years, we have been able to create the technology and infrastructure to recycle and refine 2 GWh, and reuse 300 MWh of battery capacity per annum. With offices in the US and India, Lohum has successfully built a global outreach, and is on the way to prevent 4 million tonnes of GHG emissions by 2026.
Sustainable Lithium recycling in India: The announcement of the Battery Waste Management Rules (BWMR) in India is a great step in this direction and has the potential to significantly prevent batteries in landfills and make Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) a non-negotiable priority.
India’s BWMR have rooted EPR in three core principles: ‘life-cycle thinking’, ‘Pollution prevention approach’, and ‘PPP’ (Polluter pay principle). These principles will go a long way in ensuring closed-loop carbon-neutral energy storage in the coming years.