Scaling European Battery Recycling via the Circular Economy Act

cleantechnica.com Oct 31, 2026

Scaling European Battery Recycling via the Circular Economy Act

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Oct 31, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

A joint letter from Transport & Environment, Recharge, Clean Tech for Europe and EIES urges the European Union’s forthcoming Circular Economy Act to include concrete measures that will scale the continent’s battery‑recycling capacity. The signatories argue that recovering critical raw materials (CRMs) from end‑of‑life lithium‑ion batteries is essential for reducing Europe’s reliance on imports and for meeting climate goals. Currently, more than half of the EU’s recycling facilities are at risk, and while most battery waste is pre‑processed domestically, roughly 60 % of the resulting black‑mass concentrate is exported for final refining, a leakage that undermines strategic autonomy and jobs. The letter calls for stronger political and demand signals, financial support and incentives to build EU‑based refining plants, aiming to keep valuable materials and associated employment within Europe.

💡 Why It Matters

· Stopping the outflow of black‑mass prevents a hidden drain on Europe’s critical‑material supply chain and safeguards high‑value manufacturing jobs on the continent.

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The Share of Solar Generation with Co-located Battery Storage Is Increasing

Utility‑scale solar developers are increasingly pairing new photovoltaic projects with battery storage. As of September 2026, 16% of newly added solar capacity includes operable batteries, up from 2% in 2017. Planned projects for the year’s final quarter could push the share to 19%, while long‑term plans for 2027‑2028 anticipate over 30%. Co‑location allows operators to shift solar output between the grid and storage, smoothing price volatility. Southwest states lead the trend, with double the national average of co‑located capacity.

💡 The rise in solar‑battery integration signals a shift toward more flexible, price‑responsive renewable generation, reshaping how utilities manage supply and demand.

cleantechnica.com · Oct 29

Ireland’s Grid Flexibility Assessment Shows Why Location Matters

Ireland’s Commission for Regulation of Utilities released its first national Flexibility Needs Assessment, estimating distribution networks will require about 234 MW of upward flexibility and 58 GWh of storage by 2028. The study shows flexibility must be located where constraints occur, citing the Naas 38 kV/10 kV substation, which may need 0.6 MW and 3 MWh of support in January. Planned reinforcement by 2030, removing it, underscores the location‑specific nature of the need. Batteries, managed electric‑vehicle charging and industrial demand response can meet national targets, but only resources connected at the right point can relieve specific transformer overloads. Timing, event duration and recovery periods further dictate suitable technologies. The assessment mirrors a UK finding that flexibility markets struggled with single‑transformer constraints lasting 24 hours, prompting reinforcement instead.

💡 Locating flexibility at the precise substation can avoid costly network upgrades, turning distributed assets into a direct solution for localized constraints.

quantumcomputingreport.com · Oct 29

EPB and IonQ Deploy Hybrid Trapped-Ion Algorithms on Forte Enterprise to Optimize…

EPB and IonQ published three technical preprints showing hybrid quantum‑classical algorithms for distribution network reconfiguration (DNR). Using a $4 million NIST grant, EPB’s Quantum Computing Fellows ran optimization protocols on an on‑premises IonQ Forte Enterprise trapped‑ion system at the EPB Quantum Center in Chattanooga. The work benchmarked three computational frameworks targeting line‑loss reduction and real‑time switch allocation across networks up to 417 buses. The study demonstrated that quantum sampling can guide classical power‑flow engines to low‑loss configurations, though runtime overhead remains significant for smaller systems.

💡 The research marks a tangible step toward integrating quantum computing into critical utility operations, offering a potential pathway to more efficient power grid management. It also establishes practical performance limits, informing future investment in quantum‑assisted infrastructure solutions.

thequantuminsider.com · Oct 29

E.ON and Qoro Test Hybrid Quantum Computing for Energy Scheduling

A consortium of Qoro, energy giant E.ON and the UK National Quantum Computing Centre has produced a proof‑of‑concept hybrid quantum‑classical system for peer‑to‑peer energy transaction scheduling. Using Qoro’s open‑source Divi SDK and scheduler, the team partitioned a large grid optimisation problem—based on the PEGASE‑1354 benchmark that would normally require 1,710 qubits—into sub‑problems of up to 50 qubits. Spatial circuit packing on IBM quantum hardware cut execution time by roughly threefold, while Quantum Approximate Optimisation Algorithm (QAOA) sampling combined with classical feasibility repair lowered residual decomposition error versus classical baselines. The approach demonstrated that software‑driven decomposition can make utility‑scale quantum optimisation feasible today, though it remains a laboratory demonstration rather than a deployed grid solution.

💡 By slashing the number of scheduling rounds needed for prosumer energy trades, the method offers a concrete route to alleviate real‑time grid strain as decentralized generation expands.

cleantechnica.com · Oct 29

After Years-Long Community Objection, Dairyland Power Pulls the Plug on NTEC Gas…

Superior, Wisconsin – Dairyland Power Cooperative announced it is cancelling the Nemadji Trail Energy Center, a 625‑megawatt natural‑gas plant slated for the Lake Superior shoreline, and has asked the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to withdraw its permits. The project had been opposed for years by local residents, Dairyland customers, the Fond du Lac and Red Cliff Bands of Lake Superior Chippewa, and environmental groups who argued the plant would increase air pollution, raise costs and threaten climate goals. Advocates praised the decision as a victory for the Great Lakes region and for community health. The cancellation follows a decade of legal challenges, city‑council debates and public campaigns that ultimately exhausted the plant’s regulatory timeline and set a precedent for future projects.

💡 The defeat shows that sustained grassroots pressure can halt fossil‑fuel infrastructure even after regulatory approval, reshaping the energy development playbook in the Upper Midwest.

cleantechnica.com · Oct 29

The Truth About Renewable Electricity: Your Questions, Answered

The World Resources Institute reports that renewable electricity reached 34% of global generation in 2025, surpassing coal for the first time in a century. Solar and wind dominated growth, contributing 85% of new capacity and adding 629 GW that year. Total renewable capacity rose sevenfold from 764 GW in 2000 to 5,149 GW in 2025, while fossil‑fuel output fell 0.2%. Battery storage expanded 150‑fold, enabling greater grid reliability. The shift signals a structural change in the global energy mix.

💡 The milestone of renewables overtaking coal marks a decisive pivot toward low‑carbon power, reshaping investment priorities and policy agendas worldwide.