Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Other and primary batteries: Impact and additionality

Long-run lithium hedge, short-run household waste problem

What this tab covers The impact and additionality lens: what it displaces on the grid, who gains and who bears the burden along the supply chain, and what happens at end of life.

Abundant-material rechargeables could ease lithium dependence in the long run, but none is yet at scale. Primary cells add little to decarbonisation and create a dispersed waste stream that EU rules now target.

Grid decarbonisation versus fossil displacement

Unfavourable

Today none of these chemistries displaces fossil generation at scale; zinc-based systems were not available at 100 MW in PNNL's 2021 survey. Their potential impact is indirect: diversifying storage supply away from lithium and, for zinc-ion, offering non-flammable storage in places where lithium-ion is hard to permit.1

Just transition and local community impact

Mixed

Zinc, magnesium and potash supply chains are established and include large producers outside China (Canada for potash, Australia and Peru for zinc), although magnesium metal is about 86% Chinese (calculated). Primary cell manufacturing is a mature, automated industry with few new jobs; collection and recycling can create local work.678

China share of primary magnesium, 2025 About 86% (calculated)7 Canada share of potash output, 2025 About 31% (calculated from 15,000 of 49,000 thousand t K2O)8

Circular economy and end of life

Mixed

Primary cells are thrown away after one use and often end up in household waste. The EU requires portable battery collection of 63% by 2027 and 73% by 2030, sets a 50% recycling efficiency target by end 2025 for chemistries other than lead-acid, lithium and nickel-cadmium (which covers alkaline and silver-oxide cells), and will set performance and durability rules for general-use portable batteries (excluding button cells) by 18 Aug 2027, which could push consumers towards rechargeables.910

EU portable collection target 63% by 2027; 73% by 203010 EU recycling efficiency, other chemistries 50% by end 202510 EU durability rules for general-use portable batteries Due by 18 Aug 20279

Sources

  1. 2022 Grid Energy Storage Technology Cost and Performance Assessment (PNNL-33283), Executive Summary p. vii Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for US Department of Energy, 2022
  2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Zinc US Geological Survey, 2026
  3. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Magnesium Metal US Geological Survey, 2026
  4. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Potash US Geological Survey, 2026
  5. SafeGuardS 115/23: EU issues new regulation on batteries and waste batteries (summary of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542) SGS, 2023
  6. Batteries and waste batteries: summary of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 European Parliament Legislative Observatory, 2023