You’ve seen locations at different retails where you can drop an old phone in to be recycled; too bad that’s not the same for EV batteries.
The small size of the smartphone in your pocket is nothing compared to the hundreds or thousands of pounds of lithium-ion batteries inside many EVs on the road. Many automakers now making electric vehicles don’t have a real plan for a time when the original battery pack no longer works. Still, GM faced this challenge only a few months ago with the most recent recall.
We Didn’t Expect This From the Chevy Bolt.
Reports of EVs catching fire are regular for Tesla models, but most of these instances occurred when the vehicle was in an accident. The Bolt faced a different challenge, with rare but destructive fires while the cars were charging overnight. Can you imagine going to bed only to be awakened by your fire alarm because your vehicle, which you plugged in, is on fire? This caused GM to recall all 141,000 Bolt models sold worldwide since 2017, in which all of these batteries had to be replaced.
GM Had to Find a Way to Dispose of the Batteries
The EV batteries from the Chevy Bolt models had to be recycled somehow. Each battery pack in the Bolt weighs 960 pounds and contains hundreds of battery cells that must be handled properly. Mishandling these batteries can lead to toxic fumes and fires, a severe problem. Thankfully, Spiers New Technology (SNT) stepped in to take the recalled batteries and take them to their company location. This company test, disassembles, fixes, and refurbishes these battery cells whenever they can. This is an excellent way for GM to recycle these power cells from the EVs.
What Happens to These Batteries?
If SNT can’t fix or reuse the batteries, it recycles them at its onsite facility. They also store batteries at the facility with hundreds of battery packs from GM shelved up to 30 feet in the air. SNT has received many of these items and continues to bring them to the facility to test and process the batteries to ensure they are adequately cared for and handled. This could be a long-term process, considering the number of EVs we will have on the road shortly.
A New Kind of Junkyard
The automotive world’s troubles with EV batteries are similar to what the automotive world met in the industry’s earliest days. The electrified future is happening, and most automakers are moving to EVs to offer the cars we’ll drive going forward. Not many years after the world is filled with electric vehicles, the recycling industry will need to properly process and refurbish the batteries coming out of these cars. This will create a new kind of junkyard that requires much more care in the processing of vehicles than we have now.
The International Energy Agency estimates there will be between 148 million and 230 million battery-powered vehicles in the next few years. Not long after that, we will see many of these EV models heading to the junkyards, but the batteries will need a special place to go. This allows companies like SNT to grow and find ways to reuse these lithium-ion batteries once they’ve been adequately processed. These batteries will not become waste, but they are dangerous when stored together. A recent EPA report shows that at least 65 fires at municipal waste facilities occurred last year due to stored EV batteries.
How Will SNT Prevent Lithium-Ion Battery Fires?
Most of the batteries at the waste facilities were caused by smaller batteries catching fire. These are the same batteries made for cell phones and laptops. SNT has emergency water lines running across the ceiling to safeguard against any potential issues with the batteries being stored at their facility catching fire and causing severe problems for the company. Even though these batteries in the cars on the road offer a greener automotive future, these batteries can cause serious problems once out of the vehicles.
Can SNT Create the Perfect Battery World?
The perfect would see the lithium-ion batteries living a second life by being reused or recycled to create new items and be used in future products. They should function in some capacity for 10, 25, or 50 years from now to help technology and bring things forward. Most companies like SNT need to continue to develop new ways to find efficient and planet-friendly ways to reduce a used battery to the parts that are valuable in other parts of the market where they can contribute to future technology growth and development.
Supplying the New Battery Materials
The cobalt, lithium, and nickel in the old batteries can be mined out of the many recycled to be used in new batteries no later than 2040. The reuse of EV batteries makes a big difference in the market and helps to ensure these items are used for more products. These items could be used for charging stations, trained technicians, and fortified power grids to ensure these batteries continue to contribute to industry growth. These batteries will live on with a new life that offers a great way to move things forward.
The Auto Industry Continues to Change
The recycling of old EV batteries will be a challenge going into the future. This process will likely require regulations and challenges in the future. More companies like SNT will create an excellent way to recycle and reuse these batteries. Will some materials survive long enough to be used in future batteries put into electric vehicles?
We don’t know everything about the future of processing lithium-ion batteries, especially with the high probability of catching fire when stored improperly. In the end, we expect companies to take precautions and handle the processing of these batteries properly. SNT has a good handle on things, but only time will tell us that’s indeed the case.
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