Electrical car (EV) gross sales are rising, and these automobiles are necessary to cut back fossil gas use and air air pollution. Rising gross sales means extra EVs finally reaching their finish of helpful life. When an EV retires, the battery may be recycled and the supplies recovered to make new batteries. These recovered supplies substitute what would in any other case be mined, which lessens the environmental and social impression of manufacturing. If we recycle batteries utilizing processes which have excessive mineral restoration charges, by 2050 we are able to meet greater than half of our demand for lithium, cobalt, and nickel for brand new EV battery manufacturing with recycled supplies
The US wants a complete coverage to handle the EV batteries that might be retired. Counting on market dynamics alone dangers wasted supplies, unsafe and unregulated dismantling, and a scarcity of accountability for correct disposal.
Numerous states are taking a look at coverage approaches, with California Senate Invoice (SB) 615 coming into its third 12 months of negotiations. The California invoice contains the next necessary points of a recycling coverage:
- Creates a framework the place producers are accountable for the end-of-life administration of batteries they produce.
- Creates a certification course of for EV battery recyclers, with standards primarily based on employee security and environmental impression.
- Outlines reporting necessities that can enhance transparency round recycling and mineral restoration.
- Encourages the sharing of battery state of well being, which may enhance the benefit and security of remanufacturing and repurposing of batteries retiring from an EV for different makes use of.
5 years of stakeholder discussions
The progress of SB 615 invoice over the legislative session will decide if a complete EV battery recycling coverage will lastly be made legislation in California. SB 615 is the fruits of stakeholder conversations that started in 2019 when the California Lithium-ion Battery Recycling Advisory Group first met. Within the 2024 California legislative session, each homes handed SB 615, however it was vetoed by Governor Newsom, on account of issues associated to administrative prices of implementing the regulation. SB 615 has since cleaned up reporting language and created a extra complete prolonged producer accountability framework to handle these issues. Whereas the invoice is strong, we urge policymakers to additionally add mineral restoration fee necessities and anti-smelting language. These are important to making sure that minerals are constantly recovered, regardless of fluctuating mineral costs. And whereas it seems the EV battery recycling trade is heading towards simpler recycling strategies, smelting is a excessive environmental impression course of and pointless for efficient recycling. Subsequently, the coverage ought to prohibit it.
A bunch of stakeholders, together with myself, have been persevering with discussions round EV retirement and recycling insurance policies in numerous states with native policymakers, industries, NGOs, and regulators. To this point, the one US EV battery recycling requirement is in New Jersey, however this legislation doesn’t embrace key points which are wanted to make sure clear recycling, reminiscent of environmental requirements, mineral restoration charges, or figuring out who’s accountable for protecting the price of amassing and transporting the batteries when they’re retired. A stakeholder-led invoice in Washington State, HB 1550, created a really perfect framework by incorporating a stronger environmental stance that included required mineral restoration charges and a ban on smelting. Whereas the invoice missed the First Home deadline, we hope to see it reintroduced in 2026. As well as, New Mexico, Nevada, Massachusetts, and New York have differing payments that had been launched this 12 months.
Why do we’d like EV battery recycling coverage?
To ensure that the recycled supplies to switch the necessity for newly mined minerals, all batteries should first make it to the recycling facility, after which the minerals should be recovered at a excessive fee. Some batteries are worthwhile to recycle—reminiscent of those who comprise high-value minerals like nickel and cobalt. Batteries that aren’t broken or are near a recycling facility are additionally usually worthwhile to recycle. It’s unlikely that batteries might be correctly recycled with out coverage intervention beneath the next circumstances:
- A battery is broken or faulty and subsequently wants further packaging and precautions to be shipped;
- a battery is in a rural location including to transportation prices;
- a battery doesn’t comprise excessive worth nickel and cobalt, such because the lithium-iron-phosphate batteries (LFP) now being utilized by Tesla, Ford, and Rivian; or
- lithium costs are decrease than the price of restoration
Recycling insurance policies can guarantee all batteries are recycled, minerals are recovered, and, present a gradual stream of batteries for recycling corporations which are increasing. For extra info, please check out a few of my different blogs on recycling processes, battery repurposing, state of well being assessments, mineral demand, and transportation reform.
