Myth or Fact: Electric vehicles (EV) batteries can't be recycled
FACT: Lithium-ion batteries are recyclable.
Countries in Asia are pushing ahead to build our recycling facilities. “China will account for 36% of the lithium-ion EV batteries available for recycling… more than 29% of the U.S. and 25% of Europe.” according to the Nikkei Asian Review. Also by 2025, China is expected to recycle more than 66% of the world’s lithium-ion batteries.
Are there valuable materials inside these batteries? In addition to lithium, these batteries also contain cobalt a valuable metal in limited supply. used in the production of high-performance batteries needed for electric vehicles. The wide fluctuations in the price of cobalt have the major manufacturing countries scrambling to secure the supply chains to secure their fast-growing battery sectors.
However, Europe and the US are catching up on lithium-ion battery recycling.
In Europe, materials producer Umicore is projected to invest EUR 280M into Li-ion battery recycling by 2020/21. In the U.S., the Department of Energy just launched a USD 15B li-ion battery recycling center. Lithium-ion battery recycling could reduce new battery production costs by up to 30%. This also means lower costs of EV batteries for consumers.
Want to know more? There is a video explainer down below. Here are also a few articles to get you started: