Reframing Waste: Why Battery Recycling is Now a Strategic Imperative for Europe
In just under a year, Europe will rise up in a new era of battery regulation, one that recognises lithium-ion batteries not as end-of-life by-products, but as vital material reservoirs for the continent’s green future.
Since 24 July 2025, sweeping new rules introduced by the European Commission have come into effect, redefining how batteries are recycled across the EU. More than a regulatory update, this marks a decisive shift in mindset that aligns environmental stewardship with industrial strategy and long-term energy resilience.
From Disposable to Indispensable
At the heart of these changes is a simple but powerful idea: batteries are not waste, they are resources. Every lithium-ion battery contains a valuable combination of critical raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and aluminium, that are essential to driving Europe’s clean energy transition. These are the same materials driving electric vehicles, stabilising renewable power grids and powering next-generation technologies.
Until now, much of this material has ended up in landfills or exported for treatment abroad, representing not just an environmental hazard but a missed opportunity. The new regulations aim to correct this by elevating battery recycling from a secondary process to a front-line defence in Europe’s push for sustainability and supply chain security.
Circular Economy Meets Strategic Autonomy
The regulation is bold in its ambition and granular in its expectations. Recyclers across Europe will now be subject to harmonised rules that govern how recycling efficiency and material recovery rates are calculated, ending the inconsistencies that have previously disrupted the industry.
By 2025, lithium-ion batteries will need to meet a minimum 65% recycling efficiency. By 2030, that target rises to 70%, with similarly stringent benchmarks set for other battery types. And it doesn’t stop there: by 2027, recyclers must recover 90% of cobalt, copper, nickel, lead, and 50% of lithium – figures that will climb to 95% and 80% respectively by 2031.
Waste Streams Are the New Mines
The geopolitical volatility of recent years has underscored Europe’s vulnerability to global supply shocks. The EU currently imports the vast majority of its battery materials, exposing critical industries to disruptions beyond its control.
By unlocking the value in domestic battery waste, recycling becomes a strategic tool, one that reduces reliance on third-country imports while also fostering local innovation, investment, and job creation. The result? A more resilient, circular, and competitive European economy.
At Recyclus Group, we’ve long championed this perspective. Through our proprietary technology and industrial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility, we’re not only meeting, but exceeding regulatory expectations. We’re proving that circularity isn’t just possible, it’s profitable, scalable, and essential.
A New Standard for Battery Stewardship
The EU’s new regulatory framework was developed in collaboration with the Joint Research Centre and industry experts across the continent. It marks the most comprehensive update to battery law in over a decade, and it couldn’t come at a more crucial time.
As EV adoption soars and energy storage systems multiply, the volume of end-of-life batteries entering the waste stream will surge. What we choose to do with them will shape the sustainability and competitiveness of Europe’s economy for generations.
Recyclus Group is proud to be part of this transformation. By advancing smarter, safer, and more efficient battery recycling infrastructure today, we’re helping Europe lead the global transition toward a truly circular battery economy.