Hand disassembly received’t be perfect as soon as the corporate begins taking in additional supplies, says Andy Hamilton, Redwood’s VP of producing. Eventually, Redwood hopes to automate extra of this sorting course of, although constructing automated techniques that may cope with the number of batteries the corporate takes in will doubtless be a problem.
After sorting and disassembly, the batteries that also maintain cost could be loaded onto a conveyor belt and carried up into certainly one of 4 huge chambers for a course of referred to as calcination, the place batteries are cooked at excessive temperatures to discharge them and take away solvents.
The materials is then crushed into powder earlier than it enters the hydrometallurgical course of to separate particular person parts.
Despite latest technical progress, recycling received’t meet demand for battery supplies anytime quickly, says Alissa Kendall, an vitality techniques researcher on the University of California, Davis. Since demand continues to be rising exponentially, recycled batteries will at greatest account for about half the nickel and lithium provide by 2050.
However, as battery chemistries evolve, that share might change, as is going on already with cobalt. Batteries in EVs include much less cobalt as we speak than they used to, and cell makers are constantly discovering methods to make use of even much less of the costly steel. As a outcome, recycled cobalt might make up 85% of the provision wanted by 2040, Kendall says.
Even if recycling can’t totally supplant mining, reducing the necessity for extra mines might scale back the social and environmental burden of manufacturing new batteries. Many metals for batteries are mined in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. Mining in these areas is usually related to human rights violations, together with pressured and little one labor, in addition to important air and water air pollution, in accordance with the International Energy Agency.
Waiting for the battery tsunami
Some within the battery recycling enterprise argue that the business received’t want a lot coverage assist, because the supplies in batteries shall be invaluable sufficient to justify recycling them. But latest coverage strikes within the US might give recyclers like Redwood an extra enhance.
Since Redwood’s manufacturing plant is within the US, the corporate might be eligible for manufacturing tax credit within the lately handed Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA may even drive demand for uncooked supplies from outfits like Redwood. For automobiles to qualify for $7,500 tax credit, automakers might want to supply their supplies and manufacture their batteries within the US or with free-trade companions.