How Could Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling Become a Dramatic Breakthrough for Handling Adverse Climate Impacts?

With the growing awareness of environmental concerns, many vehicle manufacturing companies have started emphasizing electric vehicles as a clean medium of mobility. As these electric vehicles are powered with batteries, what will happen to these batteries when they are dead? Therefore, electric vehicle battery recycling is a crucial step toward a cleaner and greener environment.

Princy A. J | July 25, 2022

As the world is heading towards using renewable sources of energy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the importance of improved battery technology is becoming vital nowadays. Many automotive companies have proactively started manufacturing electric vehicles to bring electrified mobility and minimize the dependency on fossil fuels, such as gasoline and diesel. The electric vehicles are equipped mostly with lithium-ion batteries. However, the concern is what will happen to these batteries after their lifespan? If these batteries are not managed properly, they may pile up into the waste and cause many hazardous impacts on the environment. This is the reason why electric vehicle battery recycling plays a major role in keeping dangerous material out of landfills.

The growing concern regarding the negative impact of global warming has increased the demand for electric vehicles, which is the factor expected to bolster the growth of the global electric vehicle battery recycling market. The market is anticipated to generate a revenue of $13,299.6 million and rise at a healthy CAGR of 37.1% during the forecast timeframe 2021-2028. The major players of the market include American Manganese Inc., LI-CYCLE CORP., ACCUREC Recycling GmbH, Battery Solutions, G & P Service, and many more.

What is the Importance of Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling?

Electric vehicle batteries are made up of two important metals including nickel and cobalt. These materials can be recycled and reused to produce new batteries. This entire process of recycling electric vehicle batteries can reduce the need for virgin mining of metals. Apart from this, there exist various other reasons for EVs battery recycling, which are listed below:

To Reduce the Emissions of Harmful Gases: The mining of materials used in EV batteries is an energy-driven process that can emit sulfur oxide. This can lead to cause aid rain. Hence, the recycling of electric vehicle batteries will help in lowering the negative environmental impacts caused due to mining.
To Conserve Natural Resources for the Future: By reducing the dependency on virgin metals, the recycling of EV batteries can slow down the depletion of raw materials or resources on earth that are limited.
To Follow Law and Regulations: One of the most important reasons behind recycling EV batteries is to protect citizens of a nation from accidental hazards. According to federal and state laws, damaged, used or defective batteries should be disposed of properly to avoid any kind of safety hazards.
To Earn Money: Apart from using batteries in electric vehicles, we use batteries in various other gadgets such as alarm clocks, TV remotes, mobile phones, electric tools, and many more. So, if we collect the number of batteries we use throughout a year and give it to the recyclers or scrapyards we can get paid by doing this. The amount of money depends upon the quantity and type of batteries you have given for the recycling process.
To Protect Environment: The improper disposal of batteries containing nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium can contaminate water, soil, air, and ecosystems. Therefore, recycling EV batteries can protect our environment from getting polluted and make it a better place for individuals to survive.

What are the Latest Developments in Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling?

The electric car vehicles are highly recyclable, however, the crucial part is extracting the precious mined metals contained in the battery that can be flammable, explosive, and very toxic. To a solution to the existing problems in EV battery recycling, many vehicle manufacturing companies are coming up with innovative recycling solutions.

For instance, Volvo is creating a closed loop system that will ensure the recycling of all materials used in high-voltage batteries. Moreover, the car manufacturing company is also focusing on the development of batteries that can be used for electric vehicles as well as for a solar energy storage system.

Similarly, Nissan has started using second-life batteries from its Leaf car model for energy storage. Moreover, Honda has collaborated with Societe Nouvelle d’Affinage des Metaux to collect and recycle batteries for the extraction of precious elements such as cobalt, manganese, lithium, nickel, and many more.

The Future of Battery Recycling for EV Owners

As the rapid climate change and emerging automotive markets are accelerating the reliance on larger batteries that can power everything, starting from an electric vehicle to a power grid, it requires careful planning, investment, and coordination that can match the battery recycling capacity with the volume of batteries exiting the market. Moreover, the increasing focus of leading car manufacturing companies to produce large volume batteries having a lifespan of 10 to 13 years is expected to offer positive news for the existing EV owners and allure more customers to opt for EVs to make a safe and sustainable environment.

About the Author(s)

Princy A. J

Princy holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the prestigious Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. University at Chennai, India. After a successful academic record, she pursued her passion for writing. A thorough professional and enthusiastic writer, she enjoys writing on various categories and advancements in the global industries. She plays an instrumental role in writing about current updates, news, blogs, and trends.