The world is electrifying transport as the climate crisis ramps up, and we abandon gasoline, coal and other fossil fuels over time. Nations and households are installing solar panels and wind turbines. Batteries are booming as individuals shift to electric vehicles. With all this energy abundance, why do we need to concern ourselves with giving new life to old EV batteries?
Why Give New Life to Old EV Battery Materials?
Batteries contain certain metallic minerals, that interact with each other to deliver the energy we call electricity. However, these materials are not all in over-abundant supply. Some of them also have geo-political issues attaching to them. Therefore we need to manage our battery material supply chains responsibly.
The BBC news channel confirms that a few countries control some major natural mineral reserves. Indonesia and Democratic Republic of Congo allow mining practices that may violate human rights. Yet between them, these two countries supply over half the world’s cobalt and nickel.
A few countries dominate the world’s known lithium reserves too. Mining this mineral can have harsh environmental consequences. North America is only beginning to mine its own lithium. Meanwhile, we have to keep our weather eye out for shifts in geo-political alliances.
Even if we could resolve these issues, we will eventually consume all the natural lithium, cobalt and nickel. We should use these reserves carefully, as responsible stewards. This includes giving new life to old EV batteries, and their materials, in any way that we can.
The Recycling Value in Old Electric Vehicle Batteries
The cathodes and anodes are the source of the power in EV batteries. The cathodes are thin sheets of rare metals such as we mentioned. The anodes are likely to be graphite. These electrodes are either in layered pairs, or rolled up in spirals like jelly rolls.
The first stage of giving new life to old EV batteries, involves separating these components. Recycling mostly begins by shredding old batteries. After that, recycling factories separate out the graphite. Then they isolate the rare minerals we mentioned. This is a complicated business, but we should do it for the sake of our planet.
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Second Life EV Battery Recycling
