Warning: Your EV Comes With Risks
Dear Leading Ladies,
President Biden, as part of his effort to reach zero emissions economy-wide by 2050, has set a goal of 50% electric vehicle (EVs) sales by 2030. To reach this level of EVs will be a giant leap from last year, when electric vehicles represented only 3% of US new auto sales, but we already see the trend moving upward.
“On the Road Again”
Many of us have already made a partial move in this direction by purchasing hybrid vehicles which use far less gasoline, save money at the gas pump, and are environmentally more responsible than traditional automobiles. Some of us have made the total switch to an electric car, even installing charging stations at our homes, since public charging stations are often hard to find. With rebates and incentives, and, yes, solar panels, installing and maintaining a private charging station can be very affordable, as well as good for the environment.
But one major problem with EVs, and even hybrids, has not been getting enough publicity. And that is the lithium-ion batteries that run these cars. All EV batteries will wear out in the decades to come, and recycling them and their parts is not as easy as recycling the batteries in traditional cars. Their impact on the environment could be devastating if plans are not made now.
Photo by Julian Stratenschulte / Picture Alliance via Getty Images
Battery included
The first thing to know about batteries in EVs is that they weigh hundreds of pounds, and noxious fumes and fires can result from incorrect handling. In an ideal world, as Wired Magazine noted in a recent article, the lithium-ion batteries in EVs would be in a “circular economy,” with all the parts being recycled into new batteries with no waste. Currently, lead-acid batteries in gas-powered cars are 95% recycled. Not so with EV batteries.
Science Magazine explains that “The battery pack of a Tesla Model S is a feat of intricate engineering. Thousands of cylindrical cells with components sourced from around the world transform lithium and electrons into enough energy to propel the car hundreds of kilometers, again and again, without tailpipe emissions.” The problem occurs “when the battery comes to the end of its life, [and] its green benefits fade. If it ends up in a landfill, its cells can release problematic toxins, including heavy metals.” For now, “recycling the battery can be a hazardous business, warns materials scientist Dana Thompson of the University of Leicester. Cut too deep into a Tesla cell, or in the wrong place, and it can short-circuit, combust, and release toxic fumes.”
While not the focus of this letter, it should be noted that there are also environmental hazards, including toxic emissions and water contamination, in the developing countries where the metals are often extracted to make the lithium-ion batteries for EVs.
Dead batteries
As Thompson explains, the problem of recycling lithium-ion batteries wasn’t considered when EVs were uncommon. Now, with the prospect of 145 million EVs by 2030, it is imperative to find a solution. Indeed, since these batteries were not designed for recycling, Thompson says, complying with emerging governmental restrictions, such as those already in place in China and California, and expected in the European Union and the U.S., will be difficult.
Some of the difficulties in recycling the EV batteries include the incredibly strong glues that hold them together, notes the Science article, making it cheaper for battery makers to buy new materials than use recycled ones. And one of the products used to break the glue was discovered to be dangerously toxic, creating a larger problem!
In addition, the way the EV batteries are currently designed, extracting the materials to recycle them can also create waste and the emission of greenhouse gasses. Consequently, redesigning the batteries should become a priority. Research done in the lab of Alissa Kendall, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis, indicates that “recycled materials could supply more than half of the cobalt, lithium, and nickel in new batteries by 2040,” according to the Wired article.
Now what?
Solutions are possible but expensive. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has already put $15 million into a ReCell Center to coordinate studies by scientists in academia, industry, and government laboratories to work on the problem.
Two companies that are working to extract all the materials in lithium-ion batteries for reuse are Redwood Materials, a Nevada firm led by former Tesla executives; Europe’s Northvolt; and Toronto-based Li-Cycle.
Clearly, the traditional methods of getting rid of old cars — and their batteries — will not work. Sending EV cars to the junkyard for scrap metal or overseas to poor countries (where they undoubtedly will not be recycled) is not feasible for these dangerous lithium-ion batteries. Yet, the costs of recycling are high, much of it in the transportation of moving these massive batteries to facilities prepared to break them down for recycling. One fear is that DIYers will jump into the fray and create dangerous situations or that storage facilities will have serious leakage issues.
The good news is that as EVs increase on the road, costs will go down, and automakers will set up their own in-house recycling operations. At least for now, however, the reality is that it is “fantasy economics” to think that recycling these batteries is financially advantageous, says Leo Raudys, CEO of Call2Recycle, a nonprofit that handles recycling logistics for dead batteries.
What can we do?
What about the government? It seems to us that if the government is going to commit to zero emissions and 50% electric vehicles on the road, it has an obligation to make sure the solution does not cause another problem. We suggest the Biden administration take a look at what the California Environmental Protection Agency has done. It convened an advisory committee to consider potential rules for battery recycling. Let the president know what you think.
Definitely consider purchasing a hybrid or electric vehicle, but inquire of the dealership how they recycle batteries. Do they have an in-house program? Do they contract with a recycling company? Do they have a plan for the future when your car’s battery might die? If enough consumers start asking these questions, the pressure will be on automakers to address the issue. Their bottom line will depend on it.
As the article in Wired concludes, “There are, after all, big things at stake here — like the planet.”
Here’s to spring!
Therese
Judy
Mary
Leading Ladies Executive Team
ladies@leadingladiesvote.org
leadingladiesvote.org
Reader Comments:
The reference article raises many valid points. It looked at the situation very objectively. The firm Redwood materials, which was mentioned in the article, is the leader in Lithium Ion battery recycling. The main recycling center is located not too far from Tesla´s battery gigafactory in Nevada. It was built just after the gigafactory was opened, since the Tesla folks knew from the start that recycling used batteries was going to be crucial to the sustainability of battery powered transportation. This company is able to get over 95% of all the key minerals back during the recycling process. As the price of raw materials increases, which is happening now, it makes recycling the used batteries more cost effective. Battery technology is changing every six months, so recycling is a moving target and the materials we are being recycled today, may not be the same ones being recycled five years from now. But companies like Redwood take that into consideration and are ready to handle the next challenge as it comes down the pike.
One key aspect in all this is scale. The recycling companies out there now are recycling on a very small scale, because relatively few batteries need recycling. They all know however, that now as battery electric powered car sales are beginning to take off, that there will be many more batteries to be recycled ten years from now. Many more battery recycling centers will have to be built. The lifecycle of the current battery construction is 10-20 years. Hopefully the construction technology will evolve so that the initial construction will take recycling into consideration. This is an infant industry and things are changing very quickly. But the industry is very aware of the problem and is not ignoring it.