Apple’s 2025 goal: 100% recycled cobalt batteries

Apple’s 2025 goal: 100% recycled cobalt batteries

Apple has recently announced new sustainability goals, revealing plans to use 100% recycled cobalt in its batteries by 2025.

The company has also pledged to incorporate entirely recycled rare earth elements in its magnets, as well as 100% recycled tin soldering and gold plating in all its printed circuit boards.

Apple has made significant strides towards achieving these targets, with over two-thirds of its aluminum, nearly three-quarters of its rare earths, and over 95% of its tungsten being sourced from 100% recycled material. In addition, the company aims to make all its products using only recycled and renewable materials, and to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Apple has accelerated the use of 100% certified recycled cobalt in the past three years, with the aim of incorporating it into all Apple-designed batteries by 2025. In 2022, 25% of all cobalt used in Apple products came from recycled material, up from 13% the previous year.

Cobalt is a critical material in the batteries of most consumer electronics, including those of Apple products, as it allows for high energy density while meeting the company’s stringent standards for safety and longevity. Apple-designed batteries, which are found in the majority of the company’s products, account for a significant amount of its use of cobalt.

Apple has also made progress in using 100% certified recycled rare earth elements, increasing its usage from 45% in 2021 to 73% in 2022. Since introducing recycled rare earths in the Taptic Engine of the iPhone 11, Apple has expanded their use across its devices, including in all magnets found in the latest iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, and Mac models. As magnets account for the majority of Apple’s use of rare earths, the company’s 2025 goal means that nearly all rare earths in its products will soon be 100% recycled.

In addition to its commitment to recycled materials, Apple is also working on developing alternatives to plastic packaging materials. The company has been using fiber alternatives for packaging components like screen films, wraps, and foam cushioning to eliminate plastics from its packaging.

Apple is also developing alternatives to replace labels, lamination, and other small uses of plastics. In the past year, the company has introduced digital printing directly onto the boxes of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro using a custom printer, eliminating the need for most labels.

Apple has also developed a new overprint varnish for iPad Air, iPad Pro, and Apple Watch Series 8 packaging to replace polypropylene plastic lamination on boxes and packaging components. This innovation has helped the company avoid over 1,100 metric tons of plastic and over 2,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Apple’s latest sustainability goals reflect its ongoing commitment to reducing its impact on the environment. The company’s efforts towards using 100% recycled materials in its products and developing sustainable packaging alternatives will not only help reduce its carbon footprint but will also set a positive example for the electronics industry.