With the explosive growth of new energy vehicles and energy storage equipment, waste lithium-ion batteries are ushering in a "retirement wave". According to industry data, the theoretical recycling volume of waste lithium-ion batteries in China exceeded 1.5 million tons in 2024. Among the core components of these "retired batteries", the proportion of aluminum is as high as 8%-15%—this often-overlooked metal is becoming a key fulcrum for driving resource utilization, environmental protection, and industrial development through crushing and recycling technologies.
I. Solving Resource Dilemmas: Reducing Dependence on Primary Aluminum and Safeguarding "Scarce Resources"
Although aluminum is abundant in the Earth's crust, the extraction of primary aluminum requires a long process: "bauxite mining - alumina smelting - electrolytic aluminum production". Moreover, bauxite is a non-renewable resource. China's per capita bauxite reserves are only 1/3 of the world average, with external dependence exceeding 50%. However, aluminum in waste lithium-ion batteries (mainly existing as aluminum foil in electrode current collectors) can be directly converted into high-purity recycled aluminum through processes such as crushing, sorting, and purification, with a purity of over 99.5%, which fully meets the reuse needs of high-end fields such as lithium-ion batteries and auto parts.
Taking the annual recycling of 100,000 tons of waste lithium-ion batteries as an example, 12,000 tons of recycled aluminum can be extracted, which is equivalent to reducing bauxite mining by 120,000 tons and saving 24 million cubic meters of water resources. This means that for every ton of aluminum recycled from lithium-ion batteries, an annual mining volume of a small bauxite mine is "saved" for the Earth, alleviating resource pressure from the source.
II. Addressing Environmental Pain Points: Reducing Energy Consumption and Emissions to Ease Ecological Pressure
Primary aluminum production is a typical "high-energy-consumption and high-pollution" industry: producing 1 ton of primary aluminum consumes 13,500 kWh of electricity, emits 12.5 tons of carbon dioxide and 0.5 tons of fluoride, and generates a large amount of red mud (a waste product from bauxite smelting, whose stockpiling easily causes soil and groundwater pollution). In contrast, the production of recycled aluminum achieves "subversive emission reduction"—extracting aluminum from lithium-ion batteries through crushing and recycling processes only consumes 500 kWh of electricity per ton of recycled aluminum, with energy consumption accounting for only 3.7% of primary aluminum, equivalent to a direct energy saving of over 95%. Carbon dioxide emissions are reduced to 0.3 tons (a 97.6% reduction), and no harmful wastes such as red mud or fluoride are generated throughout the process.
More importantly, if waste lithium-ion batteries are randomly discarded, the aluminum foil will react with the electrolyte, releasing toxic substances that pollute soil and water sources. Through standardized recycling, not only can pollution be avoided, but "hazardous waste" can also be converted into "green resources". In 2024, China achieved over 800,000 tons of annual carbon reduction through aluminum recycling from lithium-ion batteries, equivalent to the carbon sequestration effect of planting 4.4 million trees.
III. Activating Economic Value: Reducing Costs, Increasing Efficiency, and Filling Industrial Chain Gaps
For enterprises, recycling aluminum from lithium-ion batteries is a win-win choice for "cost reduction and revenue increase". On one hand, the production cost of recycled aluminum is only 60% of that of primary aluminum. Primary aluminum is greatly affected by electrolytic aluminum production capacity regulation and electricity price fluctuations, while the price of recycled aluminum raw materials (aluminum foil from waste lithium-ion batteries) is stable. Additionally, the production process is short and equipment investment is low, which helps lithium-ion battery enterprises reduce raw material procurement costs. Data from a new energy enterprise shows that after using recycled aluminum to make electrode current collectors, the material cost of a single lithium-ion battery decreased by 8%-10%, and annual profits increased by over 10 million yuan.
On the other hand, recycled aluminum can also fill the "gap" in the industrial chain. Currently, China's lithium-ion battery industry requires over 300,000 tons of aluminum foil annually, and the supply of recycled aluminum can directly meet downstream demand, reducing dependence on imported high-end aluminum foil. In 2023, the market scale of aluminum recycling from lithium-ion batteries in China exceeded 2 billion yuan, and it is expected to grow to 5 billion yuan by 2025, becoming an important growth point in the new energy recycling industry.
IV. Consolidating Industrial Foundations: Supporting the "Closed Loop" of New Energy and Safeguarding Dual Carbon Goals
The sustainable development of the new energy industry is inseparable from a "production - use - recycling - reuse" closed-loop system, and aluminum recycling is the "key link" in this closed loop. When aluminum in lithium-ion batteries is recycled and reused, it not only reduces consumption of primary resources but also lowers the industrial chain's dependence on the external environment. For example, an automobile enterprise has realized the internal circulation of aluminum resources through the model of "battery recycling - aluminum reuse - new vehicle battery production", reducing annual external aluminum purchases by 3,000 tons while shortening the raw material supply cycle.
From the perspective of the national "dual carbon" goals (carbon peaking and carbon neutrality), the energy-saving and carbon-reduction effects of aluminum recycling from lithium-ion batteries are providing important support for the "low-carbon transformation" of the new energy industry. It is estimated that if the recycling rate of aluminum from waste lithium-ion batteries in China reaches 90% by 2030, annual carbon reduction of over 5 million tons can be achieved, contributing significantly to the goal of "carbon neutrality by 2060".
Conclusion: Don’t Overlook "Aluminum in Batteries"—It’s the "Invisible Hero" of the New Energy Cycle
In the past, when people talked about waste lithium-ion battery recycling, they often focused on precious metals such as cobalt and nickel, but overlooked the value of aluminum. Today, with the maturity of crushing and recycling technologies, aluminum is transforming from "waste battery scraps" into a "guardian" of resource protection, a "practitioner" of environmental protection and emission reduction, and a "catalyst" for industrial development. In the future, with the improvement of recycling systems and technological upgrading, "aluminum recycling from batteries" will not only be a business, but also a "standard configuration" for the sustainable development of the new energy industry. After all, in an era of limited resources and urgent environmental protection, maximizing the value of every piece of "waste" is equivalent to preserving more possibilities for the future。
