Recycled Lead Market Growth Analysis | 2023-2028

Market Insights

The Recycled Lead Market was estimated at US$ 14.08 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.6% during 2023-2028 to reach US$ 17.46 billion in 2028.

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What is Recycled Lead?

Recycled lead refers to lead material that has been reclaimed and processed for reuse after its initial use in various applications. This recycling process involves collecting lead-based products such as batteries, cables, or lead-based paints, and then melting them down to extract the lead. The recovered lead can be refined and purified to meet specific quality standards, making it suitable for manufacturing new products like batteries, ammunition, or radiation shielding materials. Recycling lead is essential for environmental sustainability because it reduces the need for mining new lead ore, conserves natural resources, and minimizes the release of harmful lead compounds into the environment, which can have detrimental effects on human health and ecosystems.

Market Dynamics

The growth of the recycled lead industry is driven by a wide range of applications in various industries such as energy, data centers, transportation, construction, electronics, and healthcare during the forecast period. According to the International Lead Association, approximately more than 50% of the demand for lead across the world is obtained from recycled lead, which is mainly because of the simple production and cost-efficient features of recycled lead, along with the decreasing number of lead mining, owing to the depletion of lead ores and surge in the regulation of lead mining. On the other hand, the use of lead-acid batteries, majorly in automobiles, having lower costs and longer shelf life, is likely to fuel the growth of the recycled lead market during the forecast period.

Segments Analysis

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By Product Type

The recycled lead market is segmented as soft/pure lead, lead alloys, and lead oxides. Soft/pure lead accounted for the largest share of the market, being the primary refined product of recycled lead and is majorly used in the production of lead-acid batteries as a raw material. Furthermore, pure lead is used in producing lead alloys and oxides. The three product types of recycled lead can be largely distinguished based on their respective features. The addition of various elements such as copper, indium, silver, calcium, and tin to pure lead results in alloys having high strength, which are further used as an anti-corrosive sheet in industries such as marine and construction.

By Application Type

The market is segmented as lead acid batteries, radiation shielding, rolls & extruded products, and others. Lead acid batteries are estimated to be the fastest-growing application type of the market during the forecast period. Recycled lead used for producing lead acid batteries is completely recyclable and recoverable. On the other hand, secondary lead is processed, cast, and rolled into different forms such as sheets, billets, and wires, and it is employed for further industrial uses. Lead acid batteries are the major sources for recycling lead, in which every component is separated; lead is processed and converted into different forms for further applications in the lead industry.

By Industry Type

The market is segmented as energy, transportation, data centers, electronics, construction, healthcare, and others. Data centers are estimated to be the fastest-growing industry in the recycled lead market during the forecast period. The demand for data centers is rising globally with the arrival of cloud computing and the growing requirement for servers by search engine giants such as Google. Google itself has set up over 12 data centers, which have a variable capacity of 2.5 million servers, globally. Moreover, there are other companies such as IBM Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., and Dell EMC, which are also the major players in the industry. Recycled lead is used as a material for lead acid batteries in UPS systems for data centers, which is expected to fuel the demand for recycled lead during the forecast period.

Regional Analysis

In terms of regions, Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share of the overall recycled lead market. The region is likely to maintain its leading position with China being the largest recycler and consumer of lead scrap during the forecast period. There will be an enormous quantifiable surge of secondary demand for lead, owing to the low cost of lead acid batteries along with the growing demand for energy storage for data centers and solar energy over the coming years. There is an increase in the number of investments in recycling infrastructure in countries such as India and Malaysia, which is estimated to result in a greater production of secondary lead. North America and Europe are also expected to offer substantial growth opportunities during the forecast period.

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Key Players

Some of the key players in the recycled lead market are-

• Aqua Metals, Inc.
• Canada Metal North America Ltd.
• ECOBAT technologies
• ENERSYS
• Exide batteries
• Gravitas Group
• Mayco Industries
• Recylex S.A
• The Doe Run Company
• Tianjin Dongbang Lead Resources Recycling Co., Ltd.

Research Methodology

This report offers high-quality insights and is the outcome of a detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders, and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research’s internal database and statistical tools. More than 1,000 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact books, press releases, journals, investor presentations, white papers, patents, and articles have been leveraged to gather the data. We conducted more than 10 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and with industry experts to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence most comprehensively. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision-making for the existing market players and those willing to enter the market.

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Company Profiling

• Detailed profiling of additional market players (up to 3 players).
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Market Segmentation

• Current market segmentation of any one of the product types by application type.  

Competitive Benchmarking

• Benchmarking of key players on the following parameters: Product portfolio, geographical reach, regional presence, and strategic alliances.

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