Contents
- Portable battery market statistics: EU portable battery sales by year
- Portable battery market statistics: EU battery collection volumes
- Portable battery market statistics: portable battery lifetime estimates
- Portable battery market statistics: portable demand and cobalt use
- Portable battery market statistics: portable electronics and battery chemistry
- Sources
Portable battery market statistics: EU portable battery sales by year
Eurostat reports the weight of portable batteries and accumulators placed on the EU market. Its series runs from 2009 through 2023; sales are marked as estimates for 2009–2014 and 2022–2023. The figures describe tonnes, not units sold or market revenue, and portable batteries are a broad category rather than power banks alone. The definition covers sealed batteries, button cells, packs or accumulators that can be hand-carried and are neither industrial nor automotive. Eurostat: Waste statistics – recycling of batteries and accumulators
| Year | Portable batteries and accumulators placed on the EU market (tonnes) |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 162,000 |
| 2010 | 176,000 |
| 2011 | 173,000 |
| 2012 | 173,000 |
| 2013 | 169,000 |
| 2014 | 172,000 |
| 2015 | 177,000 |
| 2016 | 177,000 |
| 2017 | 188,000 |
| 2018 | 191,000 |
| 2019 | 206,000 |
| 2020 | 229,000 |
| 2021 | 245,000 |
| 2022 | 243,000 |
| 2023 | 231,000 |
The series starts at 162,000 tonnes in 2009 and reaches 245,000 tonnes in 2021. It then records 243,000 tonnes in 2022 and 231,000 tonnes in 2023. Across the intervening years, the reported quantities do not rise every year: the table shows declines in 2011, 2013, 2022 and 2023, along with unchanged values for 2011 and 2012 and for 2015 and 2016. These are weight figures for the category as defined, so they should not be read as counts of products or as a dedicated power-bank market estimate. Eurostat, Table 1a
Portable battery market statistics: EU battery collection volumes
Eurostat’s companion series measures waste portable batteries and accumulators collected in the EU, again by weight. It is useful to keep this collection measure distinct from sales or placement on the market: the series counts collected waste, not all batteries reaching end of life in a given year. Eurostat: Waste statistics – recycling of batteries and accumulators
| Year | Waste portable batteries and accumulators collected (tonnes) |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 50,000 |
| 2010 | 55,000 |
| 2011 | 60,000 |
| 2012 | 64,000 |
| 2013 | 65,000 |
| 2014 | 68,000 |
| 2015 | 74,000 |
| 2016 | 82,000 |
| 2017 | 83,000 |
| 2018 | 90,000 |
| 2019 | 100,000 |
| 2020 | 98,000 |
| 2021 | 109,000 |
| 2022 | 111,000 |
| 2023 | 117,000 |
Collection rose from 50,000 tonnes in 2009 to 117,000 tonnes in 2023, with a single year-to-year dip in the displayed series: 98,000 tonnes in 2020, following 100,000 tonnes in 2019. The subsequent entries are 109,000 tonnes in 2021, 111,000 tonnes in 2022 and 117,000 tonnes in 2023. The data support a description of the recorded collection volumes; they do not by themselves explain why the volumes changed. Eurostat, Table 1b
Collection rates also require care in interpretation. Eurostat’s denominator uses average sales for the reference year and the preceding 2 years. That means a collection rate is not simply the collected tonnage divided by sales in the same calendar year. These figures also do not isolate power banks from the broader portable battery category. Eurostat: Waste statistics – recycling of batteries and accumulators
Portable battery market statistics: portable battery lifetime estimates
The JRC report presents modeled lifetime estimates for battery groups P1 and P2 under low, medium and high lifetime scenarios. The values below are from the medium scenario for both groups, plus the low and high scenarios for P2 in 2020. They are model outputs in years, not direct observations of how long individual products remained in service. The source is a technical report on harmonized collection-rate methodology, and P1 and P2 are its modeled battery groups. JRC: Technical specifications for a harmonised methodology to calculate appropriate collection rates for waste portable and Light Means of Transport batteries
| Modeled group and scenario | 2020 (years) | 2030 (years) | 2040 (years) |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1, medium lifetime | 4.08 | 4.09 | 4.10 |
| P2, medium lifetime | 8.63 | 8.94 | 9.14 |
For P1, the medium-scenario estimates are 4.08 years in 2020, 4.09 years in 2030 and 4.10 years in 2040. For P2, the corresponding figures are 8.63, 8.94 and 9.14 years. The modeled P2 estimates are longer than the P1 estimates at each of these reference years; the report’s categories and scenario framework should remain attached to that comparison. JRC, Annex I lifetime results table, p. 83
For P2 in 2020, the low lifetime scenario is 7.68 years and the high lifetime scenario is 9.97 years, compared with 8.63 years under the medium scenario. This spread illustrates why a modeled lifetime should be reported with its scenario label. These estimates are not an observed service-life range for every portable battery, and they should not be generalized to a specific consumer product without matching the report’s group definitions. JRC, Annex I lifetime results table, p. 83
Portable battery market statistics: portable demand and cobalt use
The Cobalt Institute report places batteries used in portable applications within a global demand context. It states that total battery demand for portables fell to 66.4 GWh in 2023, down 4% from close to 70 GWh in 2021. The report’s Figure 6 also annotates portable battery demand growth as +34% from 2019 to 2021. These are global energy-demand figures covering multiple portable sectors, not a measure of EU sales weight or power-bank revenue. Cobalt Institute: Cobalt Market Report 2023, section 3.3 and Figure 6, p. 12
The figures describe different periods and forms of comparison: the +34% annotation refers to 2019–2021, while the stated 4% decline compares 2023 with close to 70 GWh in 2021. The report gives 66.4 GWh as the 2023 level. Keeping the scopes and units intact matters: GWh expresses battery energy demand across portable applications, while the Eurostat series above records battery and accumulator weight. These series cannot be combined into a single market-size figure from the reported observations. Cobalt Institute, Figure 6 and section 3.3, p. 12
Portable battery market statistics: portable electronics and battery chemistry
Portable electronics also appear in the report’s cobalt-demand analysis. In 2023, this segment accounted for 26% of global cobalt demand. Cobalt demand from portable electronics fell 2.4% year over year to just below 52 kt in 2023. The share and the tonnage refer to global cobalt demand associated with portable electronics; they are not battery sales weights or measures of all portable-application battery demand. Cobalt Institute: Cobalt Market Report 2023, section 3.1 and Figure 1, p. 7
The report also identifies lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) in the chemistry mix for portable-related cobalt demand. LCO accounted for 96% of portables-related cobalt demand in 2023. Separately, LCO cathode demand across battery applications fell 10.3% year over year to below 50 GWh in 2023. That last measure concerns LCO cathode demand across applications, while the 96% share concerns cobalt demand related to portables. The figures use different denominators and units, so they describe related but distinct parts of the battery market. Cobalt Institute: Cobalt Market Report 2023, section 3.3, p. 12
Together, these measures distinguish portable electronics from the wider set of portable battery applications. The report’s cobalt share is about portable electronics’ contribution to global cobalt demand; the LCO share is about the chemistry linked to cobalt demand from portables; and the GWh figure is a separate cathode-demand measure spanning battery applications. Each statistic answers a different question, so retaining its stated scope is essential when reading portable battery market statistics. Cobalt Institute: Cobalt Market Report 2023, sections 3.1 and 3.3, pp. 7, 12