The battery electric vehicle (EV) industry has experienced considerable
growth over the last few years, demonstrating a clear acceleration in
adoption and deployment. Recent government policies and incentives will
further drive the demand for production over the next 10 years.
Concurrently, the lithium-ion battery industry has grown dramatically as
manufacturers look to meet demand. However, there are still many questions
concerning what will happen to batteries as they reach their end of life
(EOL), as EV batteries that have “aged out” can either be reused, recycled,
or go to a landfill.
This chapter addresses some unsettled issues around lithium-ion battery reuse
and recycling. Reuse can delay battery EOL, lower costs of photovoltaic
solar energy storage, and reduce the logistics emissions that would come
from the recycling process. However, insufficient investment and regulations
are current barriers to a robust reuse system, and safety concerns
potentially hinder adoption. Recycling, on the other hand, offers many
benefits, such as reduced demand for raw minerals and provision of a stable
domestic source of materials for production. Despite the benefits of battery
recycling, there are also many challenges when considering their
transportation and disassembly. US transportation regulations are complex
and contribute to the high cost of recycling, as well as environmental
impacts and overall sustainability. Once batteries arrive at a recycling
facility, they must be disassembled to recover cobalt, lithium, metal foils,
and other materials. Only a small percentage of batteries are recycled today
and disassembling them is difficult and time consuming. Human operators must
undertake a labor-intensive, lengthy process to discharge used batteries
before breaking them down manually. All these challenges will need to be
addressed as the industry sees an influx of EV batteries reaching their EOL
within the next decade.