CATL and Ellen MacArthur Foundation Unveil Vision for Circular EV Batteries
In a significant step towards sustainability, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation have collaborated to launch a pioneering white paper which sets the trajectory for the circular economy of electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This report, unveiled at the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos on January 25, 2026, brings forth a unified, actionable framework for a circular value chain specifically designed for EV batteries and critical minerals. This initiative marks a crucial milestone in the partnership between CATL and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, aiming to transform risks associated with battery manufacturing and mineral sourcing into strategic opportunities for value creation.
The white paper was developed with contributions from over 30 leading organizations in the EV battery ecosystem, including prominent names such as DHL, Volvo, and Jaguar Land Rover, alongside various research institutions and NGOs. It clearly defines the directions in which EV batteries should be designed, utilized, recycled, and reintegrated into the economy to optimize their value and mitigate systemic risks throughout the entire value chain.
As a founding strategic partner of the Critical Minerals Mission by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, CATL has diligently worked alongside the Foundation and other industry stakeholders to translate the principles of the circular economy into practical, feasible actions based on real-world operational experiences. This roadmap reaffirms CATL's commitment to a circular energy economy, which includes its long-term goal of decoupling battery production growth from the extraction of new raw materials.
The report delineates the potential benefits that a circular EV battery system could bring across environmental, economic, product lifecycle, and broader value generation dimensions. By ensuring that batteries and their critical minerals are utilized across multiple life cycles, the demand for newly mined materials decreases, emissions drop, and integration of renewable energy sources becomes more prevalent. Furthermore, it enhances economic value through improved material efficiency, waste reduction, operating cost savings, and creation of new revenue streams. This approach also strengthens supply chain resilience while distributing economic benefits more equitably across regions, showcasing how a systemic circular approach can transform potential risks into strategic opportunities that create value.
Among the five interconnected measures identified in the white paper essential for maintaining the high value of materials in batteries and improving system resilience are the following:
1. Designing batteries with a circular economy in mind rather than for disposal.
2. Reassessing battery servicing within optimized energy mobility systems.
3. Expanding circular business models that treat batteries as long-term assets.
4. Building and co-financing regional circular infrastructure.
5. Enabling a circular operating system through data, standards, and policy.
CATL is already integrating these systemic practices into its operations. By decoupling batteries from vehicles, CATL manages batteries as centrally-monitored assets, thereby enhancing their utilization, facilitating planned maintenance, and ensuring a predictable return at the end of their lifespan. Currently, CATL operates more than 1000 swapping stations for passenger vehicles and over 300 for commercial vehicles, supported by a growing ecosystem of more than 100 partners.
This systemic integration allows for high-quality recycling on a large scale. CATL's recycling operations achieve a recycling rate of 99.6% for nickel, cobalt, and manganese, and 96.5% for lithium, with processing capacity expanding to 270,000 tons annually. Concurrently, CATL is exploring alternative chemistries, such as sodium-ion batteries, which utilize widely available materials and reduce carbon emissions per kilowatt-hour by up to 60%, further enhancing the circular performance in mobility, swapping, and energy storage applications.
During a briefing on the Foundation’s leadership at CATL, Jiang Li, the Vice President and Secretary of the Board of CATL, emphasized, “This report represents a major milestone on the global path toward a circular battery economy. Circular battery systems need to be scaled across regions, industries, and applications—from electric vehicles to energy storage—and tailored to diverse market conditions.”
Wen-Yu Weng, Executive Director for Critical Minerals at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, added that “with the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, circular economics for batteries and critical minerals is no longer an optional choice but a necessity for availability, resilience, and long-term growth while reducing environmental and societal impacts. Batteries for electric vehicles are strategic assets, and circular approaches are key to retaining their value and ensuring that critical minerals never become waste.”
For CATL, this agenda is intrinsically linked to its journey towards carbon neutrality—it builds upon the attainment of carbon neutrality across all its battery manufacturing facilities, with a goal to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the entire value chain by 2035. The release of this report marks the first milestone in broader collaboration between CATL and the Foundation aimed at accelerating the circular economy in the critical minerals sector. Future phases will focus on stress testing these approaches in real-world settings to understand how design, usage, longevity extension, recovery, and recycling cycles can function together at scale.
The white paper was developed with contributions from over 30 leading organizations in the EV battery ecosystem, including prominent names such as DHL, Volvo, and Jaguar Land Rover, alongside various research institutions and NGOs. It clearly defines the directions in which EV batteries should be designed, utilized, recycled, and reintegrated into the economy to optimize their value and mitigate systemic risks throughout the entire value chain.
As a founding strategic partner of the Critical Minerals Mission by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, CATL has diligently worked alongside the Foundation and other industry stakeholders to translate the principles of the circular economy into practical, feasible actions based on real-world operational experiences. This roadmap reaffirms CATL's commitment to a circular energy economy, which includes its long-term goal of decoupling battery production growth from the extraction of new raw materials.
The report delineates the potential benefits that a circular EV battery system could bring across environmental, economic, product lifecycle, and broader value generation dimensions. By ensuring that batteries and their critical minerals are utilized across multiple life cycles, the demand for newly mined materials decreases, emissions drop, and integration of renewable energy sources becomes more prevalent. Furthermore, it enhances economic value through improved material efficiency, waste reduction, operating cost savings, and creation of new revenue streams. This approach also strengthens supply chain resilience while distributing economic benefits more equitably across regions, showcasing how a systemic circular approach can transform potential risks into strategic opportunities that create value.
Among the five interconnected measures identified in the white paper essential for maintaining the high value of materials in batteries and improving system resilience are the following:
1. Designing batteries with a circular economy in mind rather than for disposal.
2. Reassessing battery servicing within optimized energy mobility systems.
3. Expanding circular business models that treat batteries as long-term assets.
4. Building and co-financing regional circular infrastructure.
5. Enabling a circular operating system through data, standards, and policy.
CATL is already integrating these systemic practices into its operations. By decoupling batteries from vehicles, CATL manages batteries as centrally-monitored assets, thereby enhancing their utilization, facilitating planned maintenance, and ensuring a predictable return at the end of their lifespan. Currently, CATL operates more than 1000 swapping stations for passenger vehicles and over 300 for commercial vehicles, supported by a growing ecosystem of more than 100 partners.
This systemic integration allows for high-quality recycling on a large scale. CATL's recycling operations achieve a recycling rate of 99.6% for nickel, cobalt, and manganese, and 96.5% for lithium, with processing capacity expanding to 270,000 tons annually. Concurrently, CATL is exploring alternative chemistries, such as sodium-ion batteries, which utilize widely available materials and reduce carbon emissions per kilowatt-hour by up to 60%, further enhancing the circular performance in mobility, swapping, and energy storage applications.
During a briefing on the Foundation’s leadership at CATL, Jiang Li, the Vice President and Secretary of the Board of CATL, emphasized, “This report represents a major milestone on the global path toward a circular battery economy. Circular battery systems need to be scaled across regions, industries, and applications—from electric vehicles to energy storage—and tailored to diverse market conditions.”
Wen-Yu Weng, Executive Director for Critical Minerals at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, added that “with the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, circular economics for batteries and critical minerals is no longer an optional choice but a necessity for availability, resilience, and long-term growth while reducing environmental and societal impacts. Batteries for electric vehicles are strategic assets, and circular approaches are key to retaining their value and ensuring that critical minerals never become waste.”
For CATL, this agenda is intrinsically linked to its journey towards carbon neutrality—it builds upon the attainment of carbon neutrality across all its battery manufacturing facilities, with a goal to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the entire value chain by 2035. The release of this report marks the first milestone in broader collaboration between CATL and the Foundation aimed at accelerating the circular economy in the critical minerals sector. Future phases will focus on stress testing these approaches in real-world settings to understand how design, usage, longevity extension, recovery, and recycling cycles can function together at scale.
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