Lithium-ion battery development and production is rapidly escalating worldwide, yet there’s no standard when it comes to battery designs, materials, and chemistries. And that affects the ability to recycle Li-ion batteries – a vital final stage of their life cycle. But this may be about to change in the US.

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory yesterday announced that it’s signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), which represents US energy storage manufacturers. Or as NEMA describes itself, “We are the US electroindustry.”

Under the MOU, Argonne and NEMA will work together to develop recycling standards for Li-ion batteries in order to help manufacturers understand what materials and designs will be more recyclable. To date, manufacturers have focused on producing Li-ion batteries cheaply and efficiently, so they now need to turn their attention to batteries’ end-of-life.
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