Inventions for battery reuse and recycling increase more than 7-fold in last 10y

May 2, 2026 · security · Source ↗

TLDR

EPO/IEA report finds battery circularity patent families grew at 42% CAGR since 2017, outpacing all other tech fields.

~16,000 inventions and ~4,000 international patent families (IPFs) analyzed across 24 battery circularity technology areas.
Asian firms hold 63% of battery circularity IPFs in 2023; Brunp (CATL subsidiary) now leads, ahead of Toyota, LG, Sumitomo.
China’s share of battery circularity IPFs jumped from 5% to 29% between 2013 and 2023; national filings now ~70% of global total.
Europe holds steady at ~21% IPF share; strengths in remote handling (34% of IPFs), hydrometallurgical extraction, and chemical transformation.
End-of-life EV batteries projected to grow from 1.2M units in 2030 to 14M by 2040, driving urgency for recycling scale-up.