Abstract:

Due to economic progress, rapid growth of the electronic products market and increased demand for portable energy sources the battery and accumulator production industry, particularly for lithium-ion batteries, is rapidly expanding in European Union countries. The planned growth in EU internal production is expected to exceed 500 GWh by 2030, compared to just over 70 GWh in 2022. At the same time as production increases, the amount of waste produced by used batteries increases, which in turn drives the development of the recycling industry. Over the last few years, the number of recycling market investments within the European Union has also noticeably grown. Despite the increase in sales and demand for portative energy sources in neighboring non-EU countries, the battery recycling initiatives are still in their infancy, what results in growth of waste generated from used batteries, which is often not being managed properly and can pose an environmental threat both to local ecosystems and to the ecosystems of neighboring countries. As research indicates, a promising solution lies in cooperation between neighboring countries, such as Ukraine, Romania, and Poland, in the field of used battery recycling. When this waste is sent to recycling facilities within the European Union, it is processed in a safe manner. This kind of partnership on recycling of used batteries can also provide access to critical secondary materials as cobalt or lithium, in countries with limited domestic resources, what aligns with the strategic goals of the European Union and thereby allows to partially reduce dependence on imports from third countries.