The Challenge
Recycling is everywhere these days, from daily-use kitchen plastics to the medals awarded to winning athletes at the recent Tokyo Olympics. And with electric vehicles (EVs) seen as the sustainable transportation of the future in line with the Net Zero 2050 mission, it is imperative to increase recycling across their value chain as well.
Our client – a global conglomerate that designs, manufactures, and markets professional, industrial, and commercial products and services – wanted to understand where opportunities existed within the EV landscape, and so, by looking at the current lifecycle of the most prominent EV battery type, lithium-ion (Li-ion), Evalueserve decided to narrow the project scope down on it.
We then guided our client about the possible avenues for high-growth and high-return areas within the lithium-Ion battery recycling space. Before we presented a solution, we had to identify the key factors to back interest and investment in the field of battery recycling.
Client requirements:
• Understand cost economics of battery recycling
• Identify potential partners operating within the space
• Formulate a go-to-market strategy
Our Solution
The client’s requirements led us to leverage the fundamentals of Evalueserve’s GREEN Solution Framework. Our GREEN Framework, which stands for Generate, Refine, Equip, and ENgage, has been designed to create insights to support decarbonisation initiatives at each stage from strategy formulation all the way to market execution.
Phase 1: Our team first generated the following insights to have a fair assessment of the battery market outlook and hence the landscape for recycling. The primary element of the GREEN Framework applicable to this Phase was Generate:
– Market Overview: battery market outlook, demand for Li-ion battery lifecycle management, key industry trends for
battery recycling, market dynamics within battery recycling
– Value Chain Analysis: EV battery life-cycle assessment, typical EV battery recycling value chain, battery recycling processes and key
– Stakeholders: technology landscape, pre-treatment technologies, lithium-ion battery recycling technologies
Phase 2: Based on key takeaways from each aspect of Phase 1, the team then moved forward into Phase 2. During this new Phase, further assessments were made as well as additional directions in continuation of insights from Phase 1 were explored. In addition to Generate, Phase 2 also focussed on the Refine element of the GREEN Framework:
– Market Overview:
• Regional overview of the regulatory landscape
• Overview of industry associations and consortia involved
– Value Chain Analysis:
• Region-wise business models
• Role of major value chain players – EV OEMs
– Technology Landscape:
• Battery recycling processes to enable metal recovery
• Overviews of processes to recover metals from spent batteries using pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, hybrid recycling methods
• Technology comparison between the recovery processes
– Stakeholder Company Profiles:
• Region-wise profiles of battery recycling companies including their description, structure, revenue details, their value chain presence, technology employed, existing partnerships, as well as attractiveness as a partner
• Their respective process flows
Further refining our Phase 2 findings, the team then delivered a market size assessment and cost analysis covering the following factors:
Market Size and Segmentation
• Li-ion battery recycling market dynamics
• Impact of key parameters on the market
• Technology segmentation based on market size and growth projections
• Technology comparison
• Technology selection criteria – expert opinion
• Understanding the competitive landscape
Cost Analysis and Process Economics
• Battery recycling economics of prevalent battery recycling technologies
• Value chain cost build-up
• Factors impacting cost of lithium-ion battery recycling
Business Impact
Using this methodology and powered by the Evalueserve mind+machine™ needs-tailored process, the team was
successful in delivering the following for the client, which comes under the Equip element of the GREEN Framework:
Evaluate the go-to-market (GTM) strategies
for key recycling technologies, by identifying potential play areas (highgrowth technology) for the client
Assess return on investments (ROI)
by understanding the cost and process economics
Support the inorganic growth strategy
by identifying lucrative partners for collaboration
Talk to One of Our Experts
Get in touch today to find out about how Evalueserve can help you improve your processes, making you better, faster and more efficient.
