Electric Vehicles: What Can We Do With The Growing Number Of Dead Batteries?

What will happen to the batteries when the first generation of electric vehicles reach the end of their lifespans in around a decade? Are they bound for the scrapheap, or can they be salvaged?

- Rob Banino

Combustion-engine vehicles are viewed as enemies of the environment and it’s easy to see why. By burning fossil fuels, every motorcycle, car, van and lorry adds to air pollution and contributes to climate change. It’s why governments are encouraging drivers to switch to more environmentally friendly electric vehicles (EVs). But while combustion-engine vehicles are an enemy in terms of emissions, they’re currently more of an ally when it comes to recycling.

The lead-acid batteries found in combustion-engine cars are easily and widely recycled, says Dr Daniel Reed, a lecturer in materials chemistry at the University of Birmingham. “Lead-acid batteries are the most recycled consumer product globally. [The technology is] mature and standardised so it doesn’t matter who makes your battery or which car you own because the battery conforms to certain regulatory specifications.”

The simplicity of lead-acid batteries also helps. They contain relatively few materials (lead for the electrodes, sulphuric acid for the electrolyte, and polypropylene to encase everything), each of which can be easily separated and sold.

The lithium-ion batteries used in EVs are almost the exact opposite.

“In a lithium-ion battery, you’ve got about 10 different components that are interspersed as tiny composite materials, as well as fluorinated polymers, fluorinated electrolytes and fluorinated solvents, all which are a complete nightmare to separate,” says Prof Andrew Abbott, a physical chemist at the University of Leicester.