What is the next big thing for batteries? It’s “Recycling” it.
Something huge is happening this month for the EV world
September 8, 2020
Battery Day: Scaling up production
September 29, 2020
JB Straubel, formerly the chief technology officer for Tesla, is now the head of a new company called Redwood Materials whose principal business will be recapturing the lithium, nickel, cobalt, and other valuable components inside lithium ion battery cells and using them to make new batteries. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Straubel said raw materials constitute as much as 75% of the total cost lithium ion batteries.
Recycled materials will be less expensive than mining, refining, and transporting new materials, which means recapturing and reusing them will drive down the cost of batteries. That in turn will further accelerate the EV revolution by making electric cars less expensive. Straubel foresees a process so efficient that nearly 100% of the valuable components of discarded batteries could be recaptured and reused.
During the 2018 Annual Shareholders Meeting, Straubel addressed an inquiry from an investor about Tesla’s approach to battery waste. The former CTO’s response was brief, stating that Tesla’s priorities lie in recycling its batteries, thereby preventing the company’s old cells from ending up in landfills. Eventually, Straubel stated, Tesla wants to develop a closed loop, using the same materials from batteries that it recycles to create new packs.
In late 2019 Panasonic began a trial with Redwood Materials to reclaim more than 400 pounds of the scrap from it battery manufacturing process at the Gigafactory and has now increased that to 2 tons. All of the scrap coming from its side of the Nevada battery facility is now shipped to Redwood. Celina Mikolajczak, a vice president at Panasonic Energy of North America and a former Tesla employee says Straubel’s “process looks like its way more sustainable from an environmental perspective.”
Redwood receives backing from Amazon for battery material recycling venture. Along with the Amazon investment, Redwood has confirmed funds from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates earlier this year.
The push to find ways to reuse the raw materials inside lithium ion batteries is a recognition that the Earth’s resources are finite and should be conserved, not squandered. Perhaps there is hope for humanity yet?
