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EV batteries come in many designs, but generally share these components. New life for spent cells Scientists are working to ensure the electric vehicle (EV) batteries being sold today can be recycled in 2030 and beyond, when thousands of batteries will reach the end of their lives every day. (Lithium and graphite are too cheap for recycling to be economical.) But because of the small quantities, the metals are like needles in a haystack: hard to find and recover. Now, recyclers primarily target metals in the cathode, such as cobalt and nickel, that fetch high prices. There are three main types: nickel-cobalt-aluminum, iron-phosphate, and nickel-manganese-cobalt. Batteries are usually defined by the metals in the cathode. Inside each cell, lithium atoms move through an electrolyte between a graphite anode and a cathode sheet composed of a metal oxide. Typically, a main pack holds several modules, each of which is constructed from numerous smaller cells (see graphic, below). 'The sooner we can get everything moving,' she says, 'the better.'ĮV batteries are constructed a bit like nested dolls. As the EV industry ramps up, the need for progress is becoming urgent, says Linda Gaines, who works on battery recycling at DOE's Argonne National Laboratory. The United Kingdom has backed the ReLiB project, a multi-institution effort. Department of Energy (DOE) has pumped some $15 million into a ReCell Center to coordinate studies by scientists in academia, industry, and at government laboratories.

To jump-start recycling, governments and industry are putting money into an array of research initiatives. And on the other side, it's an opportunity for producing a sustainable secondary stream of critical materials,' says Gavin Harper, a University of Birmingham researcher who studies EV policy issues. 'On the one side, is a waste management problem. Faraday Institutionīetter recycling methods would not only prevent pollution, researchers note, but also help governments boost their economic and national security by increasing supplies of key battery metals that are controlled by one or a few nations. Materials scientist Dana Thompson develops solvents for extracting valuable metals from spent car batteries. That has contributed to an economic obstacle: It's often cheaper for batterymakers to buy freshly mined metals than to use recycled materials. And the cells are often held together with tough glues that make them difficult to take apart. Batteries differ widely in chemistry and construction, which makes it difficult to create efficient recycling systems. In the United States, the federal government has yet to advance recycling mandates, but several states, including California-the nation's largest car market-are exploring setting their own rules.Ĭomplying won't be easy. The European Union is expected to finalize its first requirements this year. In 2018, China imposed new rules aimed at promoting the reuse of EV battery components. Governments are inching toward requiring some level of recycling. 'People are starting to realize this is an issue,' Thompson says. Several carmakers have said they plan to phase out combustion engines within a few decades, and industry analysts predict at least 145 million EVs will be on the road by 2030, up from just 11 million last year. That wasn't much of a problem when EVs were rare. Current EV batteries 'are really not designed to be recycled,' says Thompson, a research fellow at the Faraday Institution, a research center focused on battery issues in the United Kingdom.

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That's just one of the many problems confronting researchers, including Thompson, who are trying to tackle an emerging problem: how to recycle the millions of electric vehicle (EV) batteries that manufacturers expect to produce over the next few decades. Cut too deep into a Tesla cell, or in the wrong place, and it can short-circuit, combust, and release toxic fumes. And recycling the battery can be a hazardous business, warns materials scientist Dana Thompson of the University of Leicester. If it ends up in a landfill, its cells can release problematic toxins, including heavy metals. But when the battery comes to the end of its life, its green benefits fade.

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 battery pack of a Tesla Model S is a feat of intricate engineering.

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