How old batteries can help power a more sustainable EU
旧电池如何助力建设更可持续的欧盟
Batteries are key technologies in the pursuit of innovation and climate neutrality. New JRC studies suggest rules on classification, collection, and recycling to help us reuse the materials they contain.
电池是推动创新和实现气候中和的关键技术。JRC 的新研究建议制定分类、回收和再利用的规则，以帮助重新利用其中的材料。
Recycling for sustainability and strategic autonomy
回收以促进可持续性和战略自主性
Increased demand for batteries means increased demand for the raw materials they contain, like cobalt, lithium, nickel, and copper. The demand for lithium, for example, is expected to grow 21 times by 2050. In most cases, the extraction and refining of these materials involves high environmental and societal costs. This makes it especially important to extend the life cycle of batteries and ensure the highest degree of circularity of waste batteries.
电池需求的增加意味着对其原材料（如钴、锂、镍和铜）的需求增加。例如，到2050年，对锂的需求预计将增长21倍。这些材料的开采和精炼通常带来巨大的环境和社会成本。因此，延长电池生命周期并确保废旧电池的高循环利用尤为重要。
But the positive effects of material recycling go beyond protecting the environment. The EU depends on non-EU countries for the raw materials in batteries, so reusing and recycling them helps the EU keep a competitive advantage on the market and helps prevent possible shortages in the supply chain.
材料回收的积极作用不仅限于保护环境。欧盟对电池原材料的依赖大多来自非欧盟国家，因此回收利用电池材料有助于保持欧盟在市场上的竞争优势，并防止供应链潜在的短缺问题。
Battery collection: better data and clearer targets
电池回收：更好的数据与更明确的目标
An ideal battery management and recycling system begins as soon as a battery is no longer usable. After their use, batteries should be properly collected and sent for end-of-life treatment. This would help maximise appropriate waste management and make it easier to direct the batteries to the most suitable circular strategy according to their characteristics and potentialities.
理想的电池管理和回收系统应从电池不再可用时开始。废旧电池应妥善回收并送至终端处理。这将有助于最大化废弃物管理的效率，并根据电池的特性和潜力，将其引导至最适合的循环策略。
The increased lifetime of batteries influences the volume of waste batteries available for collection. Additionally, circular strategies such as remanufacturing and repurposing extend battery lifetimes, delaying their disposal as waste. At the same time, a significant number of batteries are not properly collected, reducing the overall volume available for recycling.
电池寿命的延长会影响可供回收的废旧电池数量。此外，诸如再制造和再利用等循环策略也延长了电池寿命，推迟了其作为废弃物的处置。然而，大量电池未被妥善回收，减少了可供回收的总量。
List of waste
废弃物清单
To bridge the gap between the ever-evolving battery market and the existing regulations, the JRC has published a report with a newly revised “list of waste”. The document aims to update the EU’s waste classification, to better reflect the kinds of battery waste handled today and in coming years, and the diversity of waste streams from end-of-life of batteries.
为弥合不断发展的电池市场与现行法规之间的差距，JRC 发布了一份更新版的“废弃物清单”。该文件旨在更新欧盟的废弃物分类，更好地反映当前和未来几年所处理的电池废弃物类型，以及废旧电池产生的多样化废弃物流。
Recycling in and out of the loop
闭环内外的回收
Another important step taken by the JRC scientists is directed towards calculating recycling rates in a coherent way across the EU. The JRC report makes some explicit suggestions on how to calculate recycling efficiency and material recovery rates for cobalt, copper, lead, lithium, and nickel.
JRC 科学家采取的另一个重要步骤是针对整个欧盟统一计算回收率。JRC 报告明确提出了关于钴、铜、铅、锂和镍的回收效率和材料回收率的计算方法。
If adequately done, recycling battery materials isn't just a win for the battery industry. The newly published study shows that high-quality recycling isn't limited to the "closed-loop" process of turning batteries back into new batteries, but that batteries can be recycled into valuable materials and products that are, in turn, also recycled at their end-of-life.
如果操作得当，回收电池材料不仅对电池行业有利。新发布的研究表明，高质量回收不仅限于将废旧电池再制成新电池的“闭环”过程，还可以将电池回收成其他有价值的材料和产品，这些材料和产品在其生命周期结束时也可以进一步回收。
