The Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators) released its Lithium-Ion EV Battery Recycling Policy Framework, an industry-created plan to develop specific recycling and secondary use policies to reuse, repurpose and recycle components of electric vehicle batteries and ensure batteries do not become landfill waste when reaching the end of their useful life. Auto Innovators looks forward to working with policymakers and relevant stakeholders on the implementation of these critical proposals.
The auto industry is working toward a net-zero carbon transportation future and will invest $515 billion in electrification by 2030. The accelerating shift to an all-electric vehicle future will result in a significant rise in demand for EV batteries, but many of the materials to build batteries are not currently produced domestically.
John Bozzella, president and chief executive officer of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation said, “The future of global transportation is electric. This transformation is well underway but requires a significant ramp up of EV battery manufacturing. How do we keep the flow of battery components moving and available – in a way that is not just sustainable but creates jobs and lessens our collective reliance on foreign minerals? That’s the purpose of our new policy framework. Anticipating the coming challenges and supply chain demands, the auto industry came together with a policy framework under which manufacturers, suppliers and policymakers would reuse, repurpose and recycle EV batteries and put in place the conditions for a comprehensive approach to realize a net-zero carbon transportation future.”
Reuse: Refurbishing battery modules or packs to as good or better quality and performance levels through the replacement of worn or deteriorated components and re-certifying them to OEM specifications.
Repurpose: Refurbishing EV battery components or packs to fulfill a different use from what was originally intended.
Recycle: Treating EV batteries to recover the maximum amount of raw materials for reuse in identical or alternative industries.
In 2021, EV sales were 4.4 percent of light-duty vehicle sales in the U.S. The U.S. does not have significant reserves of some EV battery materials and currently depends on imports from other nations for most raw materials. Battery recycling will help reduce that reliance on foreign sourced critical minerals. Vehicle manufacturers are already working with recyclers in the U.S. and North America to recycle manufacturing and service battery scrap.
Published in the July 2022 Edition