“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.”
Theodore Levitt, Economist
One of the main objections I hear to electric vehicles is the batteries. Some people are concerned about mining for the minerals and the waste created at the end of their lives. There is a lot of misinformation floating around about lithium-ions batteries, but it’s clear there is room for improvement. Exciting innovations in battery recycling are driving the future of electric vehicles.
Earlier this year I wrote a three-part series about EVs, taking on some common questions and concerns. One article focused on lithium supply, one on mining, and finally, a summary of EVs as a climate change solution. I touched briefly on battery recycling at that time, but things are changing fast, so I wanted to circle back.
Recycling lithium-ion batteries is critically important, considering just how ubiquitous they are in our lives. Between cars, computers, cell phones, and other electronics, there is an endless need for these batteries. Recycling reduces both the need for mining and the waste. Luckily, advances in battery recycling are happening at warp speed.
Exciting innovations in battery recycling
This week, two innovations caught my attention:
- The US Department of Energy Ames National Laboratory reported on a new method of recycling lithium-ion batteries without the need for chemicals and high heat. The coolest part – their process of recovering lithium creates green hydrogen as a byproduct. And green hydrogen just so happens to be a form of clean energy. Win-win!
- Mercedes-Benz just announced they have opened their own battery recycling plant, making it the world’s first car-maker to close the loop through in-house battery recycling. They will recover and reuse the precious minerals to make new batteries. Impressively, their expected material recovery rate is 96%!
“The future of the automobile is electric, and batteries are an essential component of this. To produce batteries in a resource-conserving and sustainable way, recycling is also key.” Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany commenting on the new Mercedes-Benz battery recycling plant
With innovations like these, we can move more confidently toward the adoption of electric vehicles as a climate solution.
Let’s do something about climate change. Learn about it. Think about it. Talk about it.