The future of EV battery recycling
It’s an unequivocal fact that electric cars are the future. According to the report European Battery Recycling: An Emerging Cross-Industry Convergence by Arthur D. Little, 70% of newly registered passenger vehicles are predicted to be battery-powered by 2030.
It’s fantastic that EVs are growing in popularity, but concerns remain when it comes to the disposal of batteries as they reach a lower state of health (SoH) and are no longer suitable for the vehicle. Questions remain about the green credentials of this process, especially when the main point of buying an EV is for the sake of the environment.
The fact of the matter is that these batteries have a long lifespan, far beyond the decade or so they will last within a vehicle. Once a battery reaches the end of its ‘first life’ – i.e. its life within an EV – it still has around 70-80% residual capacity. Your EV battery doesn’t have to simply be taken apart and have its precious metals harvested – it can move onto its second life.
A second life
An EV battery’s second life can give it another 10 years of use as energy storage across other applications. A great example of this is a collaboration between Renault and Connected Energy, where batteries used in the E-STOR were formerly used to power Renault Kangoo vehicles in France. They have a combined energy storage capacity of 720 kWh and are capable of delivering 1.2 mWh of power.
Using batteries in this way extends their life and provides important storage solutions for energy generated by solar or wind power. Battery storage facilities, and even home power walls, can help increase the use of green energy while reducing carbon use.
The realities of EV battery recycling
While the second-life EV battery market is expected to reach more than $34bn by 2027, it’s also possible to recycle a battery by stripping it down into its component parts. The average lifespan of an EV battery within a vehicle is between eight and 15 years. The report from Arthur D. Little (ADL) expects just under 4 GWh to be returned annually in Europe by 2025, but that number could leap to 200 GWh by 2040 as larger numbers of EV batteries reach the end of their lives.
And it’s not just the batteries themselves that need to be recycled, but the waste produced in the manufacturing process. Battery production is complex and results in high scrap rates of 10-30%. This will continue to scale up and will likely be a strong driver in recycling demand before end-of-life battery recycling even becomes an issue.
ADL has estimated that, by 2030, the total annual European Li-ion battery recycling market will reach approximately 130 GWh, representing more than 700-kilo tons of recycling capacity needed. By 2040, that number could increase 300%.
There is legislation in place setting targets for battery recycling, along with the minimum rates for collection, but they’re not enough to keep up with the direction and speed the industry is moving in. Thankfully, the regulations are undergoing revisions to ensure that specific targets will be attached to lithium-based batteries and the recovery of other specific materials.
The solution
Clearly, the best solution for handling the pitfalls of battery recycling is to give them a second life rather than wasting their potential. While there aren’t yet any guarantees around second-life battery performance – or indeed quality, given that these units are being used for something that wasn’t their original purpose – it’s still by far the most planet-friendly option for EV batteries at the end of their first life.
For those of us who either own an EV or are considering one, it’s comforting to know that the future of EV battery recycling includes options and that environmentally-unfriendly disposal isn’t the default. One thing is for certain: end-of-life battery anxiety shouldn’t be a deterrent to going green.
If you’d like to read more, take a look at some of the work we’ve done for our e-mobility clients here.