Many companies and investors are rushing to occupy the recycling niche batteries for electric vehicles, but it can be decades before enough used lithium-ion batteries are available to make a profit.
After all, while all electric vehicles are relatively new, and the batteries in them can work for 15 to 20 years before they become unusable.
This puts processors in a difficult position. They must invest in plants, equipment and workers or risk losing ground to competitors. But if they invest too quickly, they could run out of money before enough aging batteries arrive.
Companies need to map out how to find and dismantle batteries, separate valuable items for reuse and recycle unnecessary items. And because batteries are flammable, packaged and manufactured from model to model, disassembling them can be difficult and even dangerous. Standard designs can help, but most car and battery manufacturers don’t care. Instead, they are working on different approaches and competing to make models that can go as far as possible without charging.
And it costs a lot of money to build such plants: it is known that investments in the Canadian Li-Cycle company alone amounted to $ 300 million.
It may be a long time before battery recycling becomes a thriving industry. Of course, factories can be charged with old batteries from smartphones, laptops and other electronics containing lithium-ion batteries, but this “little thing” is quite difficult to collect.
A source: The New York Times
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