Progress and Status of Hydrometallurgical and Direct Recycling of Li-Ion Batteries and Beyond.

An exponential market growth of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) has been observed in the past 20 years; approximately 670,000 tons of LIBs have been sold in 2017 alone. This trend will continue owing to the growing interest of consumers for electric vehicles, recent engagement of car manufacturers to produce them, recent developments in energy storage facilities, and commitment of governments for the electrification of transportation. Although some limited recycling processes were developed earlier after the commercialization of LIBs, these are inadequate in the context of sustainable development.