Powering the Future 2025

The workforce needed to repair, reuse, repurpose and recycle the number of batteries expected to reach end of life in the decades ahead has not yet been developed. Also, raw material markets will need to transition much of their workforce to other industries or other segments of the value chain. Enabling a circular economy and enacting the changes discussed in this report requires a skilled and well-trained workforce – presenting both a challenge and an opportunity. In the transition to a circular battery economy, workers will be needed in new or expanded segments of the value chain, such as recycling, reuse and repurposing. Additional workers may also be needed in existing segments of the value chain, such as manufacturing, as a result of a stronger, more resilient value chain that enables greater EVB production. Recruiting and training workers to fill these jobs will be essential to enabling both a widespread transition to EVs and the development of a circular battery economy. As raw material extraction needs decrease in the future, the workforce engaged in extraction would need to transition into new roles. The extent to which raw material extraction will be needed in the future is strongly dependent upon the degree to which the circular battery value chain is realized. Scenarios range from net-zero extraction (in a fully circular economy)48 to one in which extraction needs continually increase to meet growing material demand.49 This uncertainty necessitates adaptability and requires that extraction markets, in particular, be prepared to recruit, train and reskill workers into various segments of the value chain as needs evolve. This presents both an acute challenge and a meaningful chance for these markets to develop in a way that avoids the inequities of the past and capitalizes on the socio-economic opportunities of a new, circular value chain. An additional concern in developing markets is the potential for informal EOL industries, in which individuals collect, sort, repurpose or recycle waste without proper training or regulation. This has happened with lead-acid batteries50 and e-waste,51 and the Indian government has observed that it is happening with LIBs in India today.52 Therefore, integrating these informal processes into the formal economy presents an opportunity for positive change.2.5 Workforce development and transition needs Powering the Future: Overcoming Battery Supply Chain Challenges with Circularity 17