“…The massive production and upgrading of electronic devices and electric vehicles have led to the rapid growth for the production of rechargeable lithium ion batteries (LIBs), − which will translate to tremendous amounts of waste in the coming years. − Direct disposal of LIBs through landfilling or burning would cause severe environmental pollution and resource wasting, , thus calling for the development of an efficient, economical, safe, and green recycling strategy of LIBs. − Among various components in LIBs, most efforts to improve recycling have focused on the extraction of valuable metal elements from cathodes, especially cobalt for its high value and environmental consideration. ,− Currently, pyrometallurgy or mixed pyro- and hydrometallury is the dominating approach used in industry (companies including Accure GmbH, Sony. Umicore, etc.…”