WASHINGTON, July 14 — $1.8 trillion. That’s the figure that matters: the estimated global investment in energy transition technologies in 2023, up from $1.1 trillion in 2022, according to BloombergNEF. The bottom line: clean technology and recycling are no longer niche sectors.
They are reshaping industrial supply chains from automotive to electronics, driven by policy, private capital, and a steady push to reduce reliance on virgin raw materials. The United States has placed a large bet on this shift.
The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law on August 16, 2022, committed roughly $369 billion to climate and energy provisions. That includes tax credits for clean energy manufacturing and carbon capture. Separately, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 directed $3 billion into battery manufacturing and recycling through the U.S. Department of Energy.
Investors will note the scale. The global e-waste recycling market was valued at $49.3 billion in 2022.
Allied Market Research projects it will reach $143.9 billion by 2032 — nearly triple in a decade.
Recycling rates: progress and gaps
By the numbers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: in 2018, the recycling rate for paper and paperboard stood at 68.2%. For metals, it was 34.9%. For plastics?
Just 4.5%. That gap highlights where the hardest work remains.
One company attacking that problem is Redwood Materials. Founded in 2017 by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, the firm has scaled lithium-ion battery recycling to process more than 10,000 tons of battery material annually as of 2023. That is a tangible step toward closing the loop on the metals inside electric-vehicle batteries.
European targets and global momentum
The European Union adopted its Circular Economy Action Plan in March 2020. It sets a target: 55% recycling of plastic packaging waste by 2030. That is a binding policy goal, not an aspiration.
It forces industry to redesign packaging, invest in sorting infrastructure, and change material flows. These developments are not abstract policy debates.
They translate into real shifts in how manufacturers source materials, how waste gets processed, and how much new mining is needed. Lower carbon emissions are a byproduct, but the primary economic driver is security of supply and cost reduction.
What to watch next
The figure that will matter in the coming year: whether global investment in energy transition technologies can sustain its growth trajectory. The $1.8 trillion mark in 2023 set a high bar. With U.S. tax credits still flowing, European recycling mandates tightening, and companies like Redwood Materials proving the business model at scale, the sector has strong tailwinds.
But the plastics recycling number — 4.5% — is a reminder of how much ground remains to be covered. That gap is where the next wave of innovation and investment will likely land.
Sources
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