The deployment of a sustainable recycling network for electric vehicle batteries requires the development of an infrastructure to collect and deliver batteries to several locations from which they can be transported to companies for repurposing or recycling. This infrastructure is still not yet developed in North America, and consequently, spent electric vehicle batteries in Canada are dispersed throughout the country. The purpose of this reverse logistics study is to develop a spatial modeling framework to identify the optimal locations of battery pack dismantling hubs and recycling processing facilities in Canada and quantify the environmental and economic impacts of the supporting infrastructure network for electric vehicle lithium-ion battery end-of-life management. The model integrates the geographic information system, material flow analysis for estimating the availability of spent battery stocks, and the life cycle assessment approach to assess the environmental impact. To minimize the costs and greenhouse gas emission intensity, three regional recycling clusters, including dismantling hubs, recycling processing, and scrap metal smelting facilities, were identified. These three clusters will have the capacity to satisfy the annual flow of disposed batteries. The Quebec–Maritimes cluster presents the lowest payload distance, life-cycle carbon footprint, and truck transportation costs than the Ontario and British Columbia–Prairies clusters. Access to end-of-life batteries not only makes the battery supply chain circular, but also provides incentives for establishing recycling facilities. The average costs and carbon intensity of recycled cathode raw materials are CAD 1.29/kg of the spent battery pack and 0.7 kg CO_2e/kg of the spent battery pack, respectively, which were estimated based on the optimization of the transportation distances.

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) pack is the core component of electric vehicles (EVs). As the demand is continuously increasing, it puts a lot of strain on the battery raw material supply chains. Likewise, the large quantity of spent LIBs from different sources will add to the complexity of end-of-life (EoL) management. Battery recycling processing is a potential source of critical cathode precursor materials as an alternative to virgin raw material sourcing. Indeed, metal sulfates (nickel, cobalt, and manganese) and lithium carbonate could be recovered through EoL processing. This study aims to provide an economic and environmental life cycle sustainability assessment of recycled battery materials. This assessment is based on a bottom-up approach considering geographical boundaries and process data inputs. The two sources of critical cathode battery materials, virgin and recycled battery materials, are compared based on economic and environmental indicators. This study identified the province of Quebec in Canada as the geographical boundary where several battery processing plants have been recently announced. The best available recycling process (hydrometallurgy) was selected. For the virgin materials, this study considers the option of importing from other jurisdictions by using global average supply chain values. Furthermore, a comparison of alternative supply chain configurations was performed using a spatially differentiated approach. The main findings of this study are as follows: (i) the environmental credit of recycled cathode active materials (CAMs) is estimated as −6.46 kg CO_2e/kg CAM, and (ii) the overall cost and environmental impacts of producing LIB cathode active material from recycled battery materials can be 48% and 54% lower than production from virgin materials, respectively, considering the upstream, midstream, and downstream stages of the CAM supply chain. The main drivers for the reduction in these financial costs and emissions are the local transportation and the hydrometallurgical process. The assessment results provide insights to support the development of appropriate policies and R&D solutions adapted to local considerations as well as offer additional possibilities to improve the design of sustainable supply chains for LIB recycling.

Carbon mineralization has attracted great interest as a promising strategy to achieve a decarbonized pathway by 2050. Despite the significant environmental and economic promise associated with using industrial solid waste for carbon mineralization, the scale-up application of this approach is limited due to its low reactivity and relatively high cost. A clear understanding of the detailed mechanisms governing various carbonation techniques is needed to achieve high CO₂ conversion efficiency. This review can provide valuable insight into carbon mineralization pathways, advantages and challenges, and potential feedstocks. Factors affecting reaction kinetics, and thereby carbonation efficiency, are also discussed. Then, we focus on the research progress of the most representative industrial solid wastes for CO₂ mineralization, process conditions, and their carbonation potential. Lastly, a market analysis of the precipitated carbonate products is provided to assess economic feasibility for practical applications.

Life cycle assessment, which evaluates the complete life cycle of a product, is considered the standard methodological framework to evaluate the environmental performance of climate change solutions. However, significant challenges exist related to datasets used to quantify these environmental indicators. Although extensive research and commercial data on climate change technologies, pathways, and facilities exist, they are not readily available to practitioners of life cycle assessment in the right format and structure using an open platform. In this study, we propose a new open data hub platform for life cycle assessment, considering a hierarchical data flow starting with raw data collected on climate change technologies at laboratory, pilot, demonstration, or commercial scales to provide the information required for policy and decision-making. This platform makes data accessible at multiple levels for practitioners of life cycle assessment, while making data interoperable across platforms. The proposed data hub platform and workflow are explained through the polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis hydrogen production as a case study. The climate change environment impact of 1.17 ± 0.03 kg CO₂ eq./kg H₂ was calculated for the case study. The current data hub platform is limited to evaluating environmental impacts; however, future additions of economic and social aspects are envisaged.