The importance of design in lithium ion battery recycling – a critical review

Thompson D., Hartley J., Lambert S., Shiref M., Harper G., Kendrick E., Anderson P., Ryder K., Gaines L., Abbott A.-  Recycling is always seen as an end-of-pipe process returning as much material as possible into a circular economy. There is a growing school of thought that suggests product design should be an important step in the recycling process. While this review is aimed specifically at one technological product, it contains facets that are applicable to the recycling of any complex product. Decarbonisation of energy production necessitates a proliferation of efficient electrical storage and a significant proportion of this, particularly in automotive propulsion, will use lithium ion batteries.