Between 2000 and 2018, the number of lithium-ion batteries (LIB) manufactured increased by an 80-fold increase. 66% of the batteries were used for electric vehicles (EVs) in 2018. Battery demand will rise with the planned growth of electric mobility. The International Energy Agency estimates that from 2019 to 2030, battery demand will grow by 17-fold.
What resources are used? What is the impact of their extraction on the environment? Can they be recycled or reused?
The first thing you should know when looking at the LIBs used in the vast number of EVs is that there are different types of battery technology. All contain lithium, but the other components are various: Batteries for computers or phones contain cobalt, whereas batteries for vehicles can contain cobalt along with nickel or manganese or no cobalt at all.
It is difficult to determine the exact chemical composition of storage components since it is a secret. In addition, batteries are constantly improved to improve their performance. As a result, their chemical composition changes over time. The main materials used in the manufacture of LIBs include lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Manganese, too, is a major component. All of these materials have been identified as posing environmental and supply risks.
The issue of supply is complex: On one hand, geopolitical factors and changes in extraction methods affect the value of the reserves, and on the other hand, material needs are highly sensitive to forecasts of the future (number of EVs, battery size).
What are the environmental effects?
Perhaps even more crucial is the question of the environmental impact of battery production. The effect of the materials used must be taken into consideration, even if they are plentiful.
A woman separates cobalt from rocks near a mine located in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2015. Federico Scoppa/AFP
The manufacture of batteries can have severe impacts on human health or the environment. Conditions of labor in some countries must also be monitored. In addition, to analyze the environmental effects, it is necessary to have a full understanding of battery compositions and manufacturing processes. However, this information can be difficult to obtain due to obvious reasons related to industrial property.
Can recycling materials help to reduce these risks and impacts on the environment?
The battery recycling process can be used in two different ways.
- Pyrometallurgy destroys organic and plastic materials by exposing them to high temperatures, leaving only metal components (nickel, cobalt, copper, etc.). The chemical process is used to separate them.
- Hydrometallurgy does not involve the high-temperature phase. It separates components by using different baths that are adapted chemically to the materials being recovered.
Both batteries must be first ground into a fine powder. Both processes are currently used on a large scale to recycle LIBs in order to recover cobalt. The cobalt in LIBs is so valuable that the recycling industry can only be profitable if it can recover this material.
The question of how to recycle these batteries is not yet resolved, as LIB technology used in EVs does not contain cobalt. There is also no industrial sector that can handle the recycling. There is not enough battery material to process. The EVs are relatively new, and the batteries haven’t reached the end of their lives.
The definition of end-of-life is also a subject of debate. The “traction” battery (which allows EVs to run) is considered unfit for use when it has lost 20% or 30% of its capacity – which corresponds with an equivalent loss in autonomy.
Can EV Batteries have a Second Life?
A debate is underway about the possibility of a “second life” (or extended use) for these batteries. This would allow them to be used longer and reduce their impact on the environment. First, there are issues relating to the need for a reconfiguration of batteries and their monitoring system. The next step is to identify the applications for these “reduced capacity” batteries. Many experiments have been conducted on energy storage in connection with the electricity grid.
Some EV batteries can be reused in solar farms, for example, in a model that is both economical and environmentally friendly. This has been discussed widely. Here is the battery for an eMini. Underway In Ireland/Flickr CC-BY-NC-SA
RTE, France’s operator and manager of the electricity transmission network, believes that the application is not suitable both functionally and economically and recommends instead recycling EV batteries when they reach the end of their life.
Establishing a recycling industry that can evolve with the latest technologies
In order to establish a recycling industry, it will be necessary to have an economic model that can adapt to the wide range of battery technologies without requiring a multitude of recycling processes.
LIBs are evolving very quickly – lithium-metal battery technologies, for example, are now being designed – and we even see the arrival of competing technologies without lithium, such as a href=”https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/fondamental/materiaux/mise-au point d’une batterie -sodium ion………… _144853″>sodium ion/a>. LIBs are evolving very rapidly – lithium-metal batteries, for instance, are now being developed. We’re also seeing competing technologies, like sodium ion, that do not use lithium.
All these reasons require that the environmental, social, and economic impacts of recycling and manufacturing EV batteries and their materials continue to be researched. In order to quantify the effects of manufacturing processes and find ways to reduce them, it is important to continue to apply legislation and grassroots pressure. Future European research programs will also be positioned in this field, including the environmental dimension of new batteries.
Limiting the power and size of motor vehicles is the best way to limit their use. Unsplash by Filip Mroz CC-BY
We should not, however, wait for some magical, clean, high-performance, and inexpensive battery technology. This is more of a pipedream. We must slow the increase in EV batteries, which will limit their power, mass, and autonomy.
We will have to change our way of getting around and abandon the car model.
