Grid decarbonization and closed-loop recycling reduce environmental burden in China’s electric vehicle industry

Abstract

The transition towards lightweight materials in China’s booming electric vehicle (EV) industry has raised concerns about increasing energy consumption and environmental impact from materials manufacturing. This study proposes closed-loop recycling and power grid decarbonization as two key strategies to mitigate the environmental burden of the expanding EV material demand. The findings indicate that by 2060, closed-loop recycling could meet 68.70 % of steel and 78.95 % of aluminum requirements with only 20.33 % of 2060′s total energy consumption and generating 21.63 % of 2060′s total carbon emissions. Furthermore, 1144.90 GJ of energy consumption and 77.39 Mt carbon emissions could be avoided by the combination effect of recycling and power decarbonization. These findings highlight the importance of developing efficient recycling infrastructure and integrating renewable electricity to achieve a sustainable EV industry in China, providing valuable insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders to inform strategies for transitioning towards a low-carbon, circular EV ecosystem.