There are functioning recycling facilities, the primary problem is the lack of input batteries to be recycled. Right now the input is mostly defective batteries

There are functioning recycling facilities, the primary problem is the lack of input batteries to be recycled. Right now the input is mostly defective batteries from production lines. See for example Redwood Materials: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-04-18/redwood-material-s-nevada-ev-battery-recycling-facility-attempts-to-rival-china?leadSource=reddit_wall https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-04-18/redwood-m... Given the expense of shipping materials long distances, it's quite likely that recycling will be far cheaper than processing from freshly obtained materials. But it remains to be seen what innovations will happen in the mining space or in the recycling space to change that balance.