Recycling electric vehicle batteries is a win-win. The US can beat China at it, too | Opinion
A key legislative measure aimed at spurring the recycling of electric vehicle batteries in the U.S. is providing a robust tailwind for the nascent electric vehicle industry along with powerful potential to elevate the U.S. into a global leader in EV battery recycling.
As Reuters reported, “a little-publicized clause in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has companies scrambling to recycle electric vehicle batteries in North America, putting the region at the forefront of a global race to undermine China’s dominance of the field.”
The law includes a clause that stamps “American made” on EV battery materials recycled in the U.S., regardless of their country of origin. That is especially important for the electric vehicle industry in the U.S., because it provides production incentives for automakers using U.S.-recycled battery materials.
As someone who leads a trade association dedicated to the recycled materials industry, I can say that the measure is vitally important — both for the business of recycling and for the nation. We hope it can help close a yawning chasm in industrial capacity for EV battery recycling. China currently is the overwhelming leader in the field, with three times the existing and planned lithium ion battery recycling capacity as the U.S. at the end of 2021.
EV batteries are unique among manufactured products because they contain a concentration of highly specialized metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, which can be recycled an infinite number of times without loss of performance. The idea is that the more batteries the U.S. can recycle domestically, the less mining is required of raw materials and the greater the environmental benefit. In addition, recycling these batteries domestically provides a hedge against short supply of those metals as U.S. automakers crank up EV production to replace vehicles powered by combustion engines.
Leading business strategy firm McKinsey & Company stresses that EV battery recycling has major carbon-reduction benefits — with four times lower carbon emissions than mining of raw materials — as well as big social positives. Sourcing from recyclers domestically “avoids creating primary demand for raw materials sourced from conflict regions or extracted using child labor, or both,” it found in a report from last year.
The recycled materials industry processes roughly 17 million automobiles annually, including those powered by large format EV batteries. EV battery recycling requires specialized facilities and a skilled workforce adhering to unique safety requirements. Recycling these batteries involves dismantling or shredding the battery packs, and then using heat and chemicals to break them down and purify the various specialized metals that can then be reused.
Such an industrial operation and all its benefits can take off only with a properly trained workforce, which is why the organization I lead has partnered with safety experts on a series of EV battery recycling training programs — both online and in person — for recyclers. The training focuses on the nitty-gritty of how to handle and disassemble batteries safely and the nuances of managing these operations.
Many more such facilities likely will open their doors in the near future. The Inflation Reduction Act provision is “kicking off a U.S. factory building boom” for electric vehicle battery recycling, Reuters reports, while also encouraging automakers to research more recyclable batteries.
Not to be left out, some state governments are jumping in to pass their own laws to spur recycling of EV batteries. New Jersey, for example, passed a law that seeks to create industry guidance for the recycling of lithium ion vehicle batteries. It is the first such law in the nation, with other states soon close behind.
The Biden administration is pressing the U.S. auto industry to ramp up production of electric vehicles, with the goal of them making up 50% of all new sales by 2030 — good news for average Americans eager for the environmental dividends EVs can afford. But that can’t happen without a robust battery recycling program in the U.S. and a recycling workforce ready for the challenge.
Robin Wiener is president of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, a 501(c)(6) business league that represents more than 1,600 companies in the recycled materials industry.
This story was originally published March 11, 2024 at 4:02 AM with the headline "Recycling electric vehicle batteries is a win-win. The US can beat China at it, too | Opinion."