Electric Cars Are Taking Off, but When Will Battery Recycling Follow?

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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/21/business/energy-environment/battery-recycling-electric-vehicles.html

By Niraj Chokshi and Kellen Browning, The New York Times. 

Excerpt: Benjamin Reynaga used power tools to hack his way into a beat-up hybrid Honda Fit at an auto dismantling plant at the edge of the Mojave Desert until he reached the most important part of the car: its lithium-ion battery. ...It would be disassembled nearby and then sent to Nevada, where another company, Redwood Materials, would recover some of the valuable metals inside. The plant where Mr. Reynaga works, in Adelanto, Calif., is at the front lines of what auto industry experts, environmentalists and the Biden administration believe could be an important part of a global shift to electric vehicles: recycling and reusing metals like cobalt, lithium and nickel. If batteries past their prime supply the ingredients for new ones, electric cars, trucks and vans would become more affordable and environmentally sustainable. ...Venture capitalists, automakers and energy companies are pouring money into dozens of start-up recycling companies in North America and Europe. ...But for all the optimism, this new business faces a daunting challenge: Few batteries will be available to recycle for a decade or more.... 

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