Good batteries are important when you’re moving big hunks of metal, but when they’re depleted and not fit for driving, they can still work well for stationery energy storage and this is a crucial part of the transition to renewables.

Redwood Materials, the massive battery recycling company started by ex-Tesla Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel, recently claimed a record after it put 792 individual EV battery packs together and produced 63 megawatt hours for a small data centre that was set up alongside. 

In New Zealand, 'second life batteries' have been used at fast charging stations to limit stress on the grid.

If they can’t be used to store energy, the materials in these batteries are highly recyclable. For EV lithium-ion batteries, it is already the case that recycling can achieve >90% extraction of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese [11]. Best-in-class recovery rates are as high as >99.6% for cobalt and nickel, and >95% for lithium [12]. Unlike fossil fuels, which are burned and need to be replenished, these materials are more like strategic assets. 

This is why we said in our Closing the Loop explainer that we need to approach the energy transition with a circular mindset, not a linear one. We also need strong regulation and incentives to improve recycling rates of metals and minerals, including strengthening product stewardship rules. 

‍

The recovery rates of materials in solar panels are already well over 90%. But even with a massive global roll out of solar, the amount of solar waste the world might plausibly produce up to 2050 is equivalent to the amount of coal ash already produced globally each month so it is tiny.

‍

Our explainers Electricity means Efficiency and Closing the Loop provide answers to many of the questions around materials and resource use. The short version is that electrifying everything will massively reduce our overall material and energy requirements. It is the epitome of doing more with less.

‍

‍

‍

Mining of any mineral or materials should be done as ethically and responsibly as possible. In the past, there were some issues with mining of cobalt for batteries. As the industry has matured, however, so has the traceability and sustainability of mining for critical minerals. Today, more batteries have transparent mineral production or using alternatives such as lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Australia is a world leader in ethically and environmentally produced critical minerals. The best news is that more than 90% of the components in an EV battery can be recycled, and the rate of recycling will only improve as the industry expands. Fossil fuels are single-use so the transition to renewable energy is an opportunity to create a more circular economy. Even considering battery production, the environmental impact of EVs are tiny when compared to fuel-powered cars. 

By 2050, more than half of the demand for materials like cobalt, graphite, and lithium could be met by recycled secondary supply. Others expect this to occur even earlier.