Two routes, two opposite goals

Material recycling destroys the battery to extract its metals: lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, aluminium. Modules are discharged, shredded, then processed hydrometallurgically or pyrometallurgically into a “black mass” from which elements are separated. The object disappears; only the raw material survives, to make new cells.

Reuse does the opposite: it preserves the object. Healthy cells are tested, sorted and reassembled into a pack for a less demanding use. Nothing is shredded, nothing is melted. The energy and emissions already invested in making the cell keep being amortised.

The two routes are not competitors: they follow one another. Reuse delays recycling by eight to fifteen years, and recycling remains the mandatory final step. The mistake is jumping straight to the second one.

Why premature shredding destroys value

A mobility battery is retired when it drops below roughly 70 to 80% state of health. At that point it no longer has the power to pull away on a scooter or to hold a vehicle's rated range. But it still holds 70 to 80% of its storage capacity.

The two criteria that disqualify it for mobility — energy density and peak power — barely matter for fixed storage. A battery sitting on the floor of a plant room has no weight problem, and it discharges slowly over several hours. What is disqualifying on the road becomes secondary once stationary.

Shredding that battery therefore destroys working storage to recover metals that would still be there ten years later. The manufacturing carbon footprint, already paid for, is lost rather than spread over a second life.

What European regulation changed

EU Regulation 2023/1542 on batteries settled a long-standing ambiguity: requalification for reuse is a recognised operation, distinct from waste treatment. Whoever requalifies a battery and places it back on the market becomes its manufacturer, with the obligations that follow — documentation, marking, safety testing.

That is demanding, and it is good news: it rules out improvised reuse and imposes traceability. We cover this status and its consequences in our article on standards and manufacturer status.

How to know which route applies to your battery

The answer comes from a measurement, not from appearance. A battery can look finished and hold excellent cells; another can look intact and be dangerous.

  • Above 70% SOH: reuse makes sense. Cells go to requalification, then into a stationary storage pack.
  • Below 70%: the remaining capacity no longer justifies reassembly. Material recycling.
  • Punctured, swollen or corroded cells, or any thermal runaway: recycling, no discussion. No test undoes mechanical damage.
  • Unknown history with signs of impact or immersion: maximum caution; expertise beats optimism.

Sorting happens cell by cell, not at pack level. A fourteen-cell module may well hold twelve reusable cells and two to discard. That is the point of disassembly: the pack average says nothing about individual quality.

What this means for you

If you hold an end-of-life battery, you do not have to decide yourself. The measurement decides. What does change is the value: a battery routed to reuse is paid on its recoverable capacity, whereas a battery sent to shredding is worth only its weight in material.

We explain that calculation in how much a used lithium battery is worth. And if you are buying rather than parting with one, our second-life battery packs come from exactly this sorting.