Europe is approaching a tipping point. EV adoption continues to rise, yet the expected wave of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries has not fully materialised. Many recyclers report a shortage of incoming packs — a sign that modern EV batteries may, in fact, be lasting longer than anticipated.
The market is gearing up for three critical gaps that hold back circularity today:
- Actual end-of-life volumes remain lower than forecast, making it harder to justify large recycling or repurposing capacities.
- Many of the packs that do reach recyclers still retain 75–80% of their original capacity, yet go straight to shredding instead of being evaluated for reuse.
- The ecosystem lacks the standardised data, dismantling protocols, State of Health (SoX) evaluation methods, and trusted trading mechanisms needed to route suitable batteries into second-life applications.
Together, these issues keep second-life applications from taking off.
Industry pilots consistently demonstrate strong technical feasibility, but large-scale second-life deployment still remains slow due to the structural gaps outlined above.
A dedicated European marketplace could fill this gap. By connecting data, actors, and assets, it could create the conditions for second-life to scale. This blog explores the opportunities such a marketplace could create and brings together perspectives from both industry and academia, including experts from the Circular Battery Cluster representing the REBELION, BatteReverse, Recirculate, and REINFORCE projects.
EU Battery Regulation
Under the EU Battery Regulation, second-life applications gain new strategic importance: the regulation requires transparent tracking of batteries across their entire lifecycle, including SoX assessment, reuse pathways, and end-of-life management. These provisions not only create a harmonised framework for safety and quality but also accelerate the development of cross-border markets where second-life batteries can be traded, repurposed and integrated into new energy systems with full regulatory compliance. Yet many requirements and processes remain unclear, leaving the industry poised for action and awaiting further guidance.
Key Challenges for the Second-Life Battery Business
The adoption of the EU Battery Regulation and the future efficiency of second-life battery applications are tied to several open questions. These include the price gap between new and used batteries, SoH characterisation, standardisation, fragmented data across the battery lifecycle and the current lack of infrastructure and technologies, including BMS access, monitoring and management solutions for used batteries.
We asked experts to share their perspectives on these challenges and potential solutions.
Price of New Batteries
“New batteries often have higher performance and a very competitive price. End-users prefer batches of batteries with similar chemistry and quality for both performance and certification reasons. This is harder to achieve with used batteries. For second-life applications, using a different module always requires new certification, which costs time and money. Therefore, second life is mostly realistic if you have a steady supply of homogeneous used batteries”. — Maarten Buysse, Innovation Manager, and Melis Kucukoglu, Innovation Consultant, BAX.
Lack of Standardisation
“The primary obstacle is the lack of industry-wide standardisation regarding battery design, dismantling protocols, and data accessibility. This fragmentation makes the technical evaluation and physical integration of batteries into second-life applications complex and costly.”
“The industry still has many questions and is reluctant to implement second-life solutions due to uncertainties — such as the need for battery related dynamic data, supply-chain information, protection of intellectual property, and choosing which platform or service provider to rely on.”
Fragmentation of Battery Data
“The key challenge is data fragmentation and the lack of interoperability between actors. Without standardised and reliable information on a battery’s history, chemistry, and performance, reuse remains technically and economically uncertain. Harmonised data standards are essential to unlock large-scale reuse.”
Volker Krümpel, Co-Founder at Minespider, agrees: missing information on battery quality, performance, history, and specifications remains one of the main challenges preventing efficient and scalable second-life applications.
Lack of Infrastructure
“Europe lacks the necessary infrastructure to test and evaluate the remaining lifespan of end-of-life batteries. The batteries currently collected are mainly sent to treatment facilities that are not equipped to determine their remaining capacity. At the same time, refurbishment operators are not widespread and often do not collaborate with PRO networks (at least in Italy). Stronger interaction between EoL operators and second-life users is needed to explore collaboration opportunities and streamline operations — for example, by defining standardised testing protocols or minimum performance requirements.”
Lack of BMS Designed for Second Life
One of the main barriers to repurposing retired lithium-ion batteries is the lack of battery-management systems specifically designed for second-life packs. Most available BMS solutions are developed for first-life applications, and several scientific papers highlight this as a critical gap, proposing models to help address it.
According to Volker Krümpel, Co-Founder at Minespider, limited access to BMS data remains one of the core obstacles to reliable State-of-Health assessment for second-life applications.
Witold Statkiewicz, Research Manager at Łukasiewicz – Poznań Institute of Technology, agrees and adds that current SoH evaluation methods in Europe still rely heavily on laboratory testing and fragmented operational datasets:“What’s needed is a standardized, data-driven approach that connects diagnostic results with verified lifecycle information. Integrating these datasets within a digital framework — such as the future Battery Passport — would allow for more consistent, transparent, and scalable second-life evaluations.”
Özak Durmuş, Product Sustainability Leader at Ford Otosan emphasises that SoH monitoring exists, but secondary-use pathways remain immature:
“During the vehicle’s lifecycle, battery State of Health (SoH) is continuously monitored via on-board Battery Management Systems (BMS). Regarding secondary use, pilot-level studies are currently being conducted to evaluate viability; however, a fully standardized industrial procedure for decommissioning and grading has not yet been established. End-of-life or production-scrapped batteries are currently assessed on a case-by-case basis while technical thresholds for second-life suitability are being defined.”
Interconnected Challenges
All challenges are deeply interconnected. Experts also point to incompatible data formats, liability and transport requirements, and OEMs’ reluctance to share information.
“The fact that battery designs from different OEMs lack standardisation requires different dismantling processes at the module level, making the entire process expensive and uneconomical at scale. Currently, OEMs limit access to battery history for other stakeholders in the value chain, making SoH assessment costly and complex — but this is expected to change with the upcoming Digital Battery Passport regulation.”
Verification, Certification & the Digital Battery Passport
According to Özak Durmuş, Product Sustainability Leader at Ford Otosan, the absence of clear verification and certification requirements for the secondary market remains a major barrier:
“Since specific requirements for verification and certification in the secondary market are not yet fully defined, regulatory developments and emerging industry standards are being closely monitored. To enable confident trading, a harmonized certification framework that guarantees safety, validates historical usage data, and clarifies liability boundaries is required.”
Gaia Diletta Pivari, Strategic Development & Innovation Specialist, Erion, notes that the Digital Battery Passport (DBP) could provide an efficient solution:
“I guess the DBP should be an efficient platform to contain all this information — if properly updated.”
Witold Statkiewicz underlines that trust in reused battery trading depends on both technical validation and digital traceability:
“Technical validation should confirm that the battery meets safety, performance, and sustainability benchmarks — ideally through harmonized EU testing protocols. Digital traceability must ensure that each unit’s origin, composition, and lifecycle data are securely recorded and accessible. A certification scheme that combines both — for example, through the Battery Passport ecosystem defined by EU Regulation 2023/1542 — would create a transparent framework for verification and build trust among market participants. This would also help reduce transaction costs and encourage secondary market growth.”
Several OEMs have already begun preparing for Battery Passport implementation, even though many regulatory details remain undefined. Ford Otosan, for instance, is actively involved in research and grant-funded projects aimed at developing and integrating DBP systems with partners such as Minespider:
“Preparations for Battery Passport requirements are being driven by dedicated cross-functional teams focused on data transparency and traceability. Internal knowledge and infrastructure readiness are being significantly supported by participation in funded research projects and their technical outputs. While a robust foundation is being established, data integration processes are currently being refined to ensure full alignment with the granular details of upcoming regulations.”
What a Marketplace Could Enable
A dedicated European Marketplace for second-life batteries and battery materials as well as related services could address many of the structural limitations that currently slow down reuse, repurposing, and high-value recycling. By bringing together relevant experts, services and products, accompanied with digital battery passports for relevant data, certified actors, and harmonised processes, such a platform could enable a more efficient, transparent, and scalable circular ecosystem in the future.
1. Transparent Technical and Lifecycle Data
A marketplace could potentially centralise and standardise key battery information — State of Health (SoH), chemistry, origin, operational history, and certification status. This would eliminate today’s data fragmentation and give buyers and refurbishers confidence in the quality and suitability of each unit. Integrated Digital Battery Passport records could further support compliance with EU Regulation and create a reliable foundation for second-life applications.
2. Reliable Partner and Application Matching
The platform could match available batteries with the right operators, refurbishment companies, manufacturers and recyclers based on chemistry type, SoH grade, performance requirements, and geographic constraints. Instead of today’s manual, relationship-driven market, stakeholders would gain access to matching that reduces inefficiencies and speeds up decision-making.
3. Faster and Safer B2B Transactions
With the time and after EU Battery Regulation and other related laws are clarified, the marketplace could integrate verification workflows, certification checks, liability documentation, and transport rules, so it will be able to streamline transactions that are currently slow, opaque and costly. As many industry experts and supply chain actors mentioned data and data exchange as a potential roadblock, the marketplace could serve to solve it and enable clear safety protocols, validated data, and automated documentation, minimise operational risk and reduce the administrative burden on all actors in the value chain.
4. Access to Verified Batteries and Materials
Buyers across the reuse–repair–remanufacture–recycling spectrum would gain access to a trusted inventory (backed by trusted digital records within Digital Battery and Product Passports) of second-life batteries, modules, and raw materials. This opens opportunities for:
- Energy-storage integrators looking for graded SLB modules,
- OEMs seeking components for refurbishment,
- Recyclers accessing pre-sorted materials,
- and industrial actors sourcing lower-impact alternatives.
5. A Foundation for Scalable Circularity
A marketplace could transform today’s fragmented ecosystem into a coordinated European circular economy infrastructure. It would support compliance with the EU Battery Regulation, reduce transaction costs, and unlock new business models from battery-as-a-service to guaranteed-grade second life battery (SLB) products.
Besides, a marketplace could also enable new business models, such as battery leasing, guaranteed-grade SLB packs, and transparent secondary-material trading.
Economics and Data as the Two Core Pillars
A marketplace will not solve all systemic issues, but experts agree it can become a central enabler of a scalable circular battery economy if two foundations are in place: economic value and trustworthy data.
Gaia Diletta Pivari, Strategic Development & Innovation Specialist, Erion, highlights that both economics and information sharing are essential:
“Economics and information sharing — for example on treatment processes for spent batteries and the downstream market routes of black mass — could be key for businesses to join a marketplace and accelerate second-life opportunities for used batteries and materials.”
Maarten Buysse, Innovation Manager, and Melis Kucukoglu, Innovation Consultant, BAX reinforce that the financial incentive only works when supported by reliable data and compliance:
“The fact that battery designs from different OEMs lack standardisation requires different dismantling processes at the module level, making the entire process expensive and uneconomical at scale. Currently, OEMs limit access to battery history for other stakeholders in“The main motivation would be economics, but this only works if all necessary data is there and the products comply with all needed regulations.”the value chain, making SoH assessment costly and complex — but this is expected to change with the upcoming Digital Battery Passport regulation.”
From the OEM perspective, Özak Durmuş, Product Sustainability Leader at Ford Otosan notes that residual value is the primary driver, but regulatory alignment could make participation unavoidable:
“Economic benefit is regarded as the primary motivating factor for an automotive OEM, specifically the maximization of residual value from battery assets. Motivation would be significantly reinforced by regulatory frameworks that effectively necessitate participation. A platform that offers financial benefits while fulfilling regulatory obligations is a compelling factor.”
Conclusion: Toward a Scalable Circular Battery Economy
Europe has the technological capability and the regulatory momentum to lead in circular battery systems, but it still lacks the connective infrastructure to turn second-life potential into scalable reality. A marketplace will not replace policy or engineering progress, yet it can make second-life batteries economically viable, operationally predictable, and digitally trustworthy.
The next step is coordinated alignment across industry, regulators, and digital solution providers.
Within the Recirculate project, one of our core missions is to build a Marketplace MVP and actively engage stakeholders across the second-life battery value chain. If you want to be at the forefront of this transition — by listing your products, offering services, or collaborating on technology and research — we invite you to connect with us at info@recirculate.eu