Recycling technologies of nickel–metal hydride batteries: An LCA based analysis

Transport, and particularly private mobility, is one of the main causes of polluting emissions. In order to reduce this problem, electric mobility has been strongly developed in recent years, also thanks to incentive policies implemented by many Countries. Even if electric vehicles represent an important step towards decarbonization, they still present some environmental criticalities related to the production and end of life of batteries, since its diffusion grows hand in hand with that of electric vehicles. In this scenario the present research represents the first life cycle assessment (LCA) for nickel–metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, which considers production and recycling processes. The analysis was carried out by comparing the impacts deriving from the production of batteries with those associated with recycling technologies, taking into consideration different recycling percentages. The results show the benefits deriving from end-of-life recycling of batteries for the preservation of natural resources and human toxicity.