Recycling firms’ processes all look about the identical to an outdoor observer. Batteries are disassembled and crushed up, and the ensuing powder is dissolved earlier than being subjected to numerous chemical methods. But the small print might be a key deciding think about how a lot of the precious supplies recyclers can get better, and due to this fact how a lot cash they will make.
Thanks to advances in these processes, the prospects for constructing a enterprise round battery recycling have improved. The similar dynamic is happening in photo voltaic panel recycling, the place firms are working to get better silver and different costly supplies from the units.
On a private stage, I feel discovering methods to recycle and repurpose supplies to be able to lower down on waste and damaging mining is a worthwhile aim in itself. But profitability is a surefire technique to make battery recycling extra prone to occur.
We’re nonetheless within the early days of battery recycling. China has funded and inspired a large trade, and now Europe and North America are catching up, with firms elevating lots of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in investments and constructing multibillion-dollar amenities.
For my deep dive into battery recycling, I took a have a look at certainly one of these firms, Redwood Materials. If you need to study extra about what Redwood is attempting to do, or the challenges the corporate is dealing with, try my function story that got here out yesterday. I additionally bought to talk with JB Straubel, founding father of Redwood Materials and former chief know-how officer at Tesla, about the place he thinks the trade is headed. You can discover an edited model of our dialog right here.
Keeping up with Climate
Climeworks introduced that it’s begun eradicating carbon dioxide from the environment at its Orca plant in Iceland. (Wall Street Journal)
→ The plant is probably not massive, however it is a main step for carbon removing, which was certainly one of our breakthrough applied sciences in 2022. (MIT Technology Review)
The western US is seeing report snowfall. Don’t count on it to make a dent within the drought, although. (Grid News)