Despite political and industry optimism, and the commitments of some automotive OEMs, Europe’s goal of battery recycling contributing towards a minimum 15% of its domestic battery raw material supply remains at odds with the reality of future demand, according to experts gathered at Lithium Battery Europe in Hungary last month. With some predicting end-of-use batteries only becoming a significant proportion of supply by the late 2030s, well after the initial rush to electrify transportation. This situation has to reconcile with the idea that Europe only has the potential to source 2% of its expected cobalt needs domestically based on known reserves, though it could in theory source 20% of its lithium requirements if mines were to come online at the…