U.S. Needs EV Battery Resource Reclamation Strategy

As recent supply-chain challenges are exacerbated by several global issues, almost no industry has been immune from shortages, delays and price increases – including the American electric-vehicle battery industry.

Heavy reliance on foreign sources for key inputs, such as nickel, lithium, cobalt and graphite, intensifies these effects and has motivated policy actions from the Biden Admin., including the use of the Defense Production Act and allocation of $3.16 billion for second-life battery applications at the Department of Energy.

But, while U.S. policymakers seek ways to expand the domestic supply of critical EV-battery inputs, it is crucial that the overall strategy includes a robust effort to facilitate and expand second-life uses, reclamation of serviceable components and recycling of critical materials when reuse is not feasible.

If the Administration is to succeed in its goal of making half of all new automobiles sold electric by 2030, its comprehensive U.S. EV-Battery Resource Reclamation Strategy must include both funding for R&D in battery design and reuse application, as well as funding for the development of testing, handling, transport and processing standards. Industry-led standards in these areas will play a critical role in reusing and recycling batteries.

If recent trends continue, the current battery-cell production level is well under 10% of projected worldwide need in 10 years, meaning 90% to 95% of anticipated battery manufacturing capacity currently does not exist.

Without action to both increase domestic production capabilities and recycle and repurpose existing materials, the U.S. will rely even more on foreign supply chains. Development of a safe and secure EV-battery reuse and recycling ecosystem in the U.S. is needed to extend the useful life of batteries – while supplying more than half of the cobalt, lithium and nickel needed for new EV batteries by 2040.

“Expedient but careful design of a circular supply chain is needed to ensure an equitable energy transition. There is much work to be done in identifying reuse opportunities before recycling to maximize material usage, designing batteries themselves for ease of remanufacturing and recycling, and ensuring that recycled materials reappear in products,” says Cara Fagerholm, an advanced-battery manufacturing engineer at the nonprofit Battery Innovation Center (BIC).

Unfortunately, EV battery recycling is expensive, hard to manage and presents safety and ecological challenges in its current form. In fact, transportation of EV batteries currently accounts for about 40% of overall EV-battery recycling costs in the U.S.

Addressing these challenges will require the U.S. government to work with manufacturers and recycling companies to develop a set of EV battery-testing and reuse standards to ensure product viability and safety.

Importantly, repurposed battery cells can be reused in applications other than vehicles. For instance, when batteries degrade to a point that they can no longer be used in EVs, they can be used in deployments of “peaker” plants, which augment the electric grid’s capacity in times of high use.

When their usable life has been exhausted, their raw materials can be recovered for use in the manufacturing of new cells, reducing the cost and environmental impact of mining materials such as nickel, lithium and cobalt.

“The battery ecosystem is quickly recognizing the need to go from historic agnostic silos to intentional collaborations that ensure the most robust, capable and responsible methodologies today and going forward,” says Ben Wrightsman, CEO of BIC.

The transport, storage and management of spent battery cells is one of the factors limiting the creation of large-scale recycling and reclamation capacity. Furthermore, determining the health and remaining life of a battery necessitates advanced measurement equipment and data modeling techniques. Supporting investment to establish infrastructure and associated test and measurement standards for this is necessary to accelerate a second-life strategy that eases existing supply constraints.

Testing standards, coupled with a consistent rating system, would enable the analysis of a battery’s materials at the cell level to determine how a battery can be repurposed, identify recyclable components and identify batteries that are salvageable for critical minerals and materials.

Elijah Kerry screenshot

To advance environmental priorities and achieve its 2030 goal for half of all new vehicles to be electric, the Biden Admin. must lead the way to create a robust, verifiable and scalable battery recycling, repurposing and reuse program. Such a program must include a trusted system for testing, verification and grading of used batteries to classify them for appropriate second-use applications.

This U.S. EV battery-recycling ecosystem will not only support the battery supply chain but also have the potential to lessen dependence on foreign supply, augment industry capacity, boost U.S. grid capabilities, reduce long-term mining needs and ultimately lower the cost of EVs.

Elijah Kerry (pictured, above left) is Director of Battery Solutions and Strategy at NI, formerly known as National Instruments, a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software.