Vol. 9, Special Issue 4, Part A (2023)

Abstract
The commercial success of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) in the 1990s permanently changed the landscape of energy storage today, yet the batteries' disposal poses an increasing environmental risk. To fulfil the demands of developing technologies like electric vehicles, decarbonized power, and electrochemical energy storage, enormous efforts are being made to create electrode materials, electrolytes, and separators for energy storage devices. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much discussion of the sustainability issues with lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and the newest rechargeable batteries. Recycling is crucial to the long-term viability of batteries and is influenced by a number of factors, including environmental risks and the worth of the minerals that make up a battery. Consequently, when creating battery systems, recycling should be taken into account. Despite the fact that there are numerous technologies that are addressed for recycling of LIBs, It's still unclear if the most recent cutting-edge LIBs recycling technology qualify as green. Despite the potential for high overall efficiency, downcycling and waste reduction are typically the foundations of industrially applied recycling technology. On the other hand, circular procedures ensuring upcycling of all elements in the direction of zero waste and minimal energy consumption should underpin sustainable recycling of LIBs. This review aims to clarify why the safety issue brought up by lithium batteries needs to be taken into account. It compares and analyses how well various battery chemistries perform. This could provide one a general notion of how environmentally friendly LIBs recycling systems are.