D3 Damon
In February 2022, Redwood Materials launched a pilot program in California to recycle electric vehicle batteries. The startup has partnered with state governments, Ford, Volvo, Volkswagen, Toyota and even the auto dismantling industry to source used lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride traction batteries. A year later, some of the findings from his first 12 months have been published.
In total, Redwood recovered 1,268 battery packs. The majority of these were from vehicles that reached the end of a particular road, with Redwood saying less than 5% were “damaged, defective, or recalled.”
These packs came from 19 different EV and hybrid models and were mostly lithium-ion (82% of the total) with the remaining 18% NiMH cells. Redwood says he was able to recover 95% of the lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper and other metals from these packs. As we noted last month, the company is already producing production-grade copper anode foil.
Redwood says a major cost factor in the overall process comes down to logistics. Especially now there are very few used EVs waiting for battery pack recycling. “In time, as the volume of used packs increases, logistics costs will drop and batteries will become an asset,” Redwood said. helpful,” he said.
Interestingly, Redwood says the company’s recycling process is already profitable when using small batteries such as cell phones and laptops, as well as production waste. The same is expected to be true once EV battery packs become recyclable on a large scale.
However, that may take some time. One concern is that EV batteries will need to be replaced. many It proved to be largely unfounded when they reached the age of 8. Also, if the battery has deteriorated to the point where it can no longer be used in the car, before going to the recycler, it can be used as a static storage place for 2 It can prolong the life of the second time.
Redwood says it’s imperative that automotive OEMs work with battery recyclers that can refine used batteries into “battery-grade” metal for use in new cells. Failure to do so will result in intermediate recycling here in the US and sending those materials overseas. In contrast, lithium, copper, or other metals refined from batteries recycled here in the United States count as domestic supplies for the new Clean Vehicle Tax Credit rule.
“The value of used batteries lies in ensuring responsible recycling, and any proposal or action that adds extra costs to the EV battery value chain puts both California and the United States at a competitive disadvantage. Clean energy and electrification,” says Redwood.
