Critical Material Recovery from Waste: Trends, Technologies, and 20-Year Growth Outlook

Lithium-ion battery metals, rare earths, and semiconductors have emerged as critical materials in the twenty-first century, underpinning modern technology used in electric vehicles, green energy, computing and AI, and beyond. As surging demand and growing supply uncertainty casts critical materials into the spotlight, a strong market pull is emerging for the development of new critical material sources.

 

2025 has been a turbulent year for critical materials and supply chains globally, but is translating into clear growth opportunities for critical material recovery from waste. With the volume of devices and equipment reaching end-of-life increasing year-on-year, waste is rapidly emerging as a valuable source of critical semiconductors, rare earths, platinum group metals, and Li-ion battery materials. IDTechEx's latest research report, "Critical Material Recovery 2026-2046: Technologies, Markets, Players", forecasts that US$66.7B of critical material value will be recovered annually from waste and secondary sources by 2046.

 

In this concise webinar, IDTechEx Senior Technology Analyst, Dr Jack Howley, will provide market analysis and evaluation of the significant critical material recovery market developments of 2025 and identify key growth opportunities. This webinar will discuss:

 

• The rise of critical materials and market developments in 2025.

• Emerging role of critical material recycling in addressing global supply challenges.

• Critical material recovery market breakdown and evaluation of emerging technologies and business models.

• Key growth opportunities in critical rare earth and lithium-ion battery recycling.

• Critical material recovery market growth outlook and 20-year market forecast.