Covid-19 Causes Major Downturn in Sustainable Lending

Only a few major battery innovations (Lead Acid by Plante, Nickel Cadmium by Jungner, Lithium-ion by Goodenough/Sony) have reached significant market penetration since the 1800s. As of 2018, over 90% of large‐scale battery storage power capacity in the US was provided by batteries based on Lithium‐ion (Li-ion) chemistries [1]. The demand for Li-ion batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles (EVs) is projected to grow about tenfold until the next decade. By 2025, the global revenue from Li-ion batteries is expected to reach $71 billion USD [2]. The volume of retired batteries follows an S-like curve, with less end-of-life Li-ion batteries today, but an estimated 315 GWh (1,619,000 tons) available for recycling by 2030 (assuming a lifetime of 10 years) [3], a volume roughly equivalent to current annual battery production [4].