US to Reduce Battery Import Reliance Quickly
Battery recycling in the US could reduce the national reliance on imported critical materials within three years, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report examines substitution and recycling technologies to reduce import reliance on critical minerals within the battery and semiconductor industries.
The US relies on imports for many critical minerals that are essential to the battery and semiconductor industries, but their supply chains are vulnerable to disruptions. Substitution and recycling technologies could help reduce US reliance on these imports.
Battery Recycling
Battery recycling, extracting minerals from batteries for reuse, could reduce imports in two-to-three years. Using lithium iron phosphate batteries for grid energy storage might reduce reliance on imported cobalt, manganese, and nickel. However, such batteries do not perform as well in other applications, such as electric vehicles, due to their lower energy density.
Although battery recycling technologies to recover copper, cobalt, lithium, and nickel are mature and could reduce imports, US battery recyclers are said to lack capacity. Lithium-free batteries are not yet commercially mature.
Semiconductor Industry
The outlook is less positive for semiconductors, with most substitution and recycling technologies seen as years away from maturity. Substitution is unlikely to have a near-term effect on import reliance of minerals, such as gallium and indium, because other materials do not perform as well as these critical minerals across the same conditions.
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Technologies to recycle minerals from semiconductors face challenges such as an underdeveloped market, while using semiconductor manufacturing scrap is not standard practice in the US. The report notes that technologies to recycle discarded electronics whose minerals are generally bonded with other materials are only in pilot-stage development.
Policy Options
GAO identified four options for policymakers that could support less reliance on the imports of critical minerals: establishing domestic manufacturing capacity for viable substitutes, establishing domestic recycling capacity, securing inputs for recycling, and supporting research, development, and testing. The report also suggests policymakers could pursue non-technological approaches such as greater domestic mining.
The report’s findings are based on an analysis of substitution and recycling technologies, as well as challenges to their development and adoption. The GAO is a federal agency working to Congress in an independent and nonpartisan capacity, and its report provides a neutral assessment of the potential for reducing US reliance on imported critical materials.
According to the report, the development of domestic recycling capacity could play a key role in reducing reliance on imported critical minerals. This could involve building domestic infrastructure to bolster the domestic capacity to recycle batteries and semiconductors, as well as supporting efforts to collect, sort, transport, and store manufacturing scrap and end-of-life devices for recycling and reuse.
