With global EV sales accelerating past 15 million units in 2024, the surge in lithium-ion battery waste is creating both an environmental challenge and an economic opportunity. By 2030, battery waste is projected to hit 1.3 million tons/year globally, with the U.S. and Europe accounting for nearly 48% of this volume. This has spurred aggressive investment in battery recycling infrastructure, with Li-Cycle (U.S.), Redwood Materials (U.S.), and ACCUREC (Germany) scaling capacity by over 5x since 2021.
Newer hydrometallurgical and direct recycling methods now offer 90–95% recovery rates for lithium, cobalt, and nickel, up from 60–70% a decade ago. Capital expenditure per unit recovered has declined by 15–18% year-over-year, bringing average project breakeven down to 7–8 years. In the EU, the updated Battery Regulation mandates a minimum of 50% recycled content in new batteries by 2030, while the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act offers up to $45/kWh in tax credits for recycled battery materials used in domestic manufacturing.
Policy support is catalyzing industrial-scale recycling hubs, particularly near EV gigafactories. In parallel, OEMs are integrating “design for disassembly” features to reduce end-of-life processing costs. The recycling value chain from collection to processing to reintegration is now seen as a critical pillar in battery supply chain security, with over $12 billion committed globally in 2023–24.
5 Key Quantitative Insights
Download the full report to explore ROI benchmarks, policy impacts, and recovery tech trends shaping the battery recycling ecosystem.
Electric vehicle adoption in Europe is no longer in its early phase; it’s scaling fast and placing massive pressure on public charging infrastructure. With over 5.5 million EVs sold in 2024, the region is on track to surpass 45 million EVs by 2030. Yet, despite this rapid growth, charger utilization rates remain low at 9–12%, well below commercial breakeven for most charge point operators (CPOs). Fast chargers (>150 kW) see better throughput, with 25–35% higher energy flow than Level 2 chargers, but face grid congestion issues, particularly in urban Germany, the Netherlands, and France.
A major policy driver is the EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), which mandates 1.3 kW of public charging per registered BEV by 2025. This regulatory tailwind is forcing rapid capital deployment, with an estimated €75–85 billion in cumulative infrastructure investment needed through 2030. However, permitting delays, land acquisition costs, and grid interconnection lead times of 12–24 months are slowing deployments.
Charging-as-a- Service models, roaming agreements, and AI-based demand forecasting are improving site economics, with pilot deployments in Spain and Italy reporting 30–40% improved charger utilization. But the long-term ROI still hinges on solving grid upgrades and balancing energy load at scale.
Top key takeaway-
Download the full analysis to benchmark investment priorities, ROI levers, and public-private models in Europe’s EV charging ecosystem.