EV Battery Recycling Has Boomed Too Soon
It will be at least another decade before there are enough exhausted batteries to justify all the new plants being built now.
First batteries, then recycling.
Photographer: John MacDougall/AFP
The boom in battery recycling is starting to look like a bubble. That’s a challenge for US EV makers in need of raw materials to power a sustainable transportation future.
An electric-vehicle battery built from metals mined in Congo, Indonesia and other emerging markets just doesn’t feel environmentally responsible enough to many US policymakers and consumers. They would prefer to source their batteries from home-grown, recycled resources, and both private investors and the Biden administration are keen to make that happen. Last week, the Department of Energy awarded a $2 billion loan commitment to Redwood Materials Inc., one of the largest battery recyclers in North America. The goal is to expand its operations so that it can manufacture battery components for more than 1 million EVs annually.