Electric vehicle battery recycling is set to become one of the strategic pillars of zero-emission mobility. According to estimates by McKinsey & Company, the sector could generate up to $70 billion in annual revenues by 2040, compared with roughly $2.5 billion recorded last year. These figures reflect the transition from a niche activity to a high-growth industry.

The reason is simple: electric vehicles are still relatively young, but after 2030 an increasing number of first-generation models will reach the end of their life cycle. Degraded batteries, no longer suitable for delivering high driving ranges, still contain valuable materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt, which can be recovered and reused to produce new battery packs. Not surprisingly, the mineral-rich compound obtained through recycling is already being described by some industry players as the “new black gold”.

Regulation will play a decisive role. As long as turning used batteries into new ones is not economically more advantageous than extracting virgin raw materials, regulatory support will remain essential. The European Union has already set ambitious targets with the new Battery Regulation, aiming for 70% recycled lithium by 2030, while the Critical Raw Materials Act stipulates that at least 25% of critical materials consumed should come from domestic sources or recycling processes.

Beyond supply security and the protection of industrial margins, recycling also represents a key element of the circular economy. According to a study by the environmental think tank RMI, a mature electric vehicle battery recycling industry could even make the extraction of new battery minerals unnecessary by 2050. This ambitious objective confirms that the end-of-life phase of batteries is set to become one of the central chapters of the electric transition in the coming decades.

Innovative technologies for the production and recycling of electric and hybrid vehicles, for the automotive, transport, and industrial sectors, will be presented at E-Tech Europe, taking place 7–9 October 2026 at BolognaFiere, as part of Urban Tech 2026 – The Urban Technology Show, the new event dedicated to e-mobility, traffic, commuting, security, telecommunications & data, and environment.

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