Last month the International Battery Recycling Congress held a conference in Antwerp, where the subject of lithium-ion recycling was discussed by the experts. Unfortunately, the meeting concluded that recycling batteries for their lithium content is not yet economical. Alain Vassart, secretary general of the European Battery Recycling Association, explained that at only 3% of the total battery material, there is not enough lithium in a standard battery to justify a full recycling process. It would take some level of technological advance to make closed-loop lithium recycling economical, so while recycling continues to be encouraged at the policy level, the economics may continue to be a drag on a greener manufacturing cycle for some time to come.