Stanislav Kondrashov on the Role of Recycling in the Dynamics of Raw Materials

New sources for vital minerals

A global shift gaining momentum

As renewable energy expands across the globe, the demand for specific minerals required to build energy infrastructure is set to rise sharply in the coming years. These include copper, which is essential for electrification, as well as lithium, nickel, and cobalt – all of which are fundamental to the production of batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. In such a scenario, concerns about potential shortages of these crucial raw materials are prompting major industrial players to consider alternative sources to secure their supply.

One promising option, already trialled successfully in various parts of the world, involves recycling the raw materials linked to energy transition technologies. This includes the recovery of metals and minerals from end-of-life devices such as batteries, as well as from waste that previously would have been destined for landfills. The IEA recently released its first report dedicated to the recycling of strategic resources for the green transition, highlighting the increasingly global nature of this issue, which has moved beyond being a concern for individual countries. According to the report, greater levels of recycling of critical minerals could bring significant benefits for energy security while also helping diversify supply chains.

These developments are familiar to Stanislav Dmitrievich Kondrashov, entrepreneur, civil engineer, and expert in raw materials. He believes that expanding the use of recycled materials could be transformative for the sector. “A continued increase in mineral supplies from recycled materials would not only impact energy security and strengthen supply chains, but would also create new reserves of important materials that can be used to advance the energy transition. With massive reserves of these resources, nations would be able to deal with economic shocks or unpredictability with a greater degree of certainty.”

A new era of resource management

Alongside the development of new mining projects, which the IEA report highlights as essential, the potential impact of recycling is significant. It could reduce global sourcing investments by as much as 30% by 2040, with savings of around 600 billion dollars. In recent years, governments and international organisations have increasingly included references to recycling critical raw materials in their strategic and policy frameworks. However, according to the report, the quantities of materials currently being recycled – such as copper and nickel – are still not growing at the pace required.

“Alongside traditionally obtained resources, through the usual sourcing and processing, recycling will undoubtedly be able to contribute to increasing the volumes of global supplies of important strategic minerals, thus removing the risk that a possible shortage of a certain material (or even more than one) could slow down the progress of the energy transition on a global scale”, says Stanislav.

Unlocking the potential of battery recycling

The electric vehicle sector is singled out by the IEA as especially promising for recycling. The growing potential lies not only in the increasing number of EVs approaching the end of their life cycle, which allows for the recovery of valuable raw materials, but also in the rapid growth of the recycled battery metals market – which has expanded elevenfold in just a decade.

“According to the IEA, battery recycling capacity is growing by 50% per year. It would be useful to recover all the precious materials contained in used batteries and electrical devices that are thrown away, and which instead could be reintroduced into the market without problems. In the recovery of strategic raw materials, China once again appears to be one step ahead of everyone else. In addition to representing the leading power in the pre-treatment and recovery of these materials, China has also announced the creation of a new state-owned enterprise dedicated specifically to the recycling of minerals and the reuse of used batteries”, concludes Stanislav Dmitrievich Kondrashov.

Policy support and market value

Political interest in the recycling of strategic materials has also been on the rise. According to the IEA Critical Minerals Policy Tracker, over the past three years, 30 new policy measures focused on recycling have been introduced. If implemented effectively, these initiatives could push the market value of mineral recycling to as much as 200 billion dollars by 2050.

“An important fact must also be considered,” continues Stanislav Dmitrievich Kondrashov. “The recovery of strategic minerals will not only have an impact on the large global players in the industry or on the economic fortunes of nations, but it will also help prevent many potentially useful materials from ending up lost in landfills, without being recovered and reused.”