Closing the Loop on Thailand’s Electric Vehicle Batteries - A roadmap towards an electric vehicle battery recycling value chain through 2040

Thailand’s rapid shift to electric mobility creates an opportunity to build a domestic value chain for recycling vehicle batteries. At the same time, the need for action is growing: forecasts suggest that around 200,000 tonnes of end-of-life batteries could accumulate by 2033, rising to a total of 2.5 million tonnes by 2043. Suitable recycling capacity is not yet in place; informal handling poses risks to workers, the public and the environment.

Drawing on a workshop with experts in Thailand, the discussion paper by Agora Verkehrswende and Oeko-Institut sets out a roadmap with ten milestones to be achieved by 2040. It covers five areas for action: a regulatory framework including extended producer responsibility (EPR), effective enforcement, industrial recycling capacity, training and research, and the safe reuse of suitable batteries in “second-life” applications.

The next two to three years will be decisive. Cross-ministerial coordination and a battery regulatory framework incorporating EPR by 2030 should clarify responsibilities and funding for battery collection and treatment, helping to enable investment. Informal-sector actors should be gradually integrated into certified structures, while workers and public authorities receive appropriate training.

The first pilot plants are expected to begin operating by 2030. Annual capacity for producing black mass is projected to reach up to 15,000 tonnes by then, up to 35,000 tonnes by 2035 and up to 90,000 tonnes by 2040. Thailand should also begin processing black mass into battery-grade intermediate products by 2035 at the latest. For second-life applications, the paper recommends mandatory testing and clear quality and liability rules.

A battery circular economy established in good time could reduce raw material imports and dependence on volatile markets, create jobs, and lower environmental and health risks. This will require early political coordination, effective regulation, a skilled workforce and investment. The roadmap provides an action-oriented framework to guide this process.