Recycling, the essential link to industrial performance - Technical focuses of the Engineer's Techniques, January 2025

With just under a million vehicles currently on the road in France, the question of how to recycle them in the future is already on the agenda, with all the cross-functional issues that this entails. In particular, the availability of metals and rare earths for the production of new batteries, as electric vehicles are destined to become the most widely used means of transport in the next decade. In recent years, numerous subsidies have been introduced, particularly at European level, to boost the transition to electric vehicles replacing combustion engines. For a number of reasons, these subsidies have been reduced or even abolished in some European countries, such as Germany and France, with the result that sales of electric vehicles have dropped significantly. Electric vehicles are still expensive, and consumers still tend to opt for combustion-powered vehicles if they don't receive sufficient financial support to take the plunge into electric mobility. Hence the turbulent times currently experienced by the entire automotive industry, between the injunction to develop electric models in anticipation of future regulations, and the reality of the market, which 'forces' them to remain competitive on the combustion vehicle market, in order to continue to exist. Since January 1, 2025, carmakers have had to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 15% compared to 2021, which is quite a lot: that is one-fifth less than the emissions allowed in 2024 for vehicles registered in Europe. All this on pain of heavy fines, adding to the current turbulence. This tense context for European carmakers has consequences for the entire electric vehicle industry. Indeed, the drop in sales of electric vehicles mechanically leads to a drop in demand for batteries. This in turn is putting the European battery production sector in difficulty. This makes it difficult for recyclers to plan for an increase in their activity. It is therefore essential for the entire electrical industry to have industrial players in Europe, covering the entire value chain. This white paper focuses on the issue of battery recycling, a major challenge for the development of the electric vehicle industry