President Joe Biden’s U.S. electric vehicles (EVs) ramp will include advancing domestic recycling of batteries to reuse lithium and other metals, Reuters reports based on government officials.
What Happened: The U.S. government is set to complete a 100-day review of supply chain gaps in crucial areas, including EVs. The gaps include the minerals used in EV batteries and consumer electronics.
The government is exploring ways to reduce metal usage in new battery chemistries.
Democrats are pressing for the majority of U.S.-manufactured cars to be electric by 2030 and every car on the road to be electric by 2040.
Securing enough cobalt, lithium, and other raw materials for EV batteries is a major hindrance, with extensive regulatory hurdles and environmental opposition challenging the domestic mines. Biden intended to rely on mines in ally countries for EVs.
The domestic recycling initiatives include direct investment in projects and scientific research and Congress-approved funds.
Why It Matters: The domestic recycling boost will reduce reliance on mining by breaking down older EVs into component parts for new vehicles.
Last fall, China’s Ganfeng Lithium Co announced its plans to build a battery recycling plant in Mexico for the U.S. EV market. The White House expects more plants in the U.S.
The initiative includes a heavy emphasis on research and development to drive the use of already-mined metals.
The U.S. government estimated the EV revolution to lead to the dumping of 8 million tons of battery scrap in U.S. landfills alone by 2040.
Recycling could reduce the projected need for new sources of copper for EV batteries by 55% by 2040. The figure is 25% for lithium and 35% for cobalt and nickel.
Recycling will also reduce the demand for new mines.
Last fall, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) had invested in Nevada’s Redwood Materials recycling firm that will recycle scrap and battery parts from a contractor for Nissan Motor Co Ltd’s (OTC: NSANY) Leaf EV. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) also recycles some battery parts at its Nevada Gigafactory. At the same time, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) has started to recycle old iPhones and other electronics at an Austin, Texas facility.
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