Dive Brief:
- As electric vehicle adoption grows, an increasing number of batteries will reach the end of their useful life and require an alternative recycling solution to prevent them from being discarded in landfills, according to a report from Guidehouse Insights.
- Recycling EV batteries could help establish a closed-loop supply chain and reclaim up to 98% of key raw materials to manufacture new batteries.
- Ramping up recycling efforts may lessen automakers’ reliance on critical raw materials from international suppliers, including cobalt, lithium, and nickel.
Dive Insight:
Guidehouse estimates global electric vehicle sales could reach 57 million units by 2030. Some automakers, including Tesla, Ford, and Toyota, have already entered into battery recycling agreements with Redwood Materials to establish more sustainable EV battery supply chains.
“Recycling is environmentally sustainable, and it meets broad government and industry strategic goals of mitigating international supply chain and geo-political risks by decreasing reliance on material extraction and refinement dominated by a handful of countries,” Adam Winston, research analyst with Guidehouse Insights, said in a statement.
According to Redwood, critical raw materials, such as lithium, nickel, copper, and graphite, make up nearly 80% of the manufacturing cost of producing lithium-ion battery cells for EVs. Guidehouse Insights predicts that sales of EVs in the U.S. will reach 6.6 million units by 2030, representing nearly 33% of new car sales.
In 2022, Ford and Volvo signed an agreement with Nevada-based Redwood Materials to recycle end-of-life battery packs from hybrid and electric vehicles in California. They were the first automakers to support the program in California.
Redwood says its technology can recover, on average, 95% of nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper from end-of-life EV batteries. The company aims to produce 100 GWh of cathode and anode components per year by 2025, which is enough to manufacture battery cells for roughly 1 million EVs annually.
Redwood, founded in 2017 by Tesla co-founder and former CTO J.B. Straubel, received a $2 billion loan commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy in February to build and expand a battery materials campus to support the growing EV market and bolster the domestic supply chain. The Biden Administration wants zero-emissions vehicles to account for 50% of U.S. auto sales by 2030.
Tesla’s battery supplier, Panasonic, plans to use Redwood’s recycled cathode material for its recently announced battery plant in Kansas, which will begin cell production in 2025. It will be the first time materials recovered from used batteries will be integrated into large-scale battery cell manufacturing in the U.S.
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?
- SDG 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse.
- SDG 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes.
- SDG 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?
Yes, the following indicators can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets:
- Percentage of key raw materials reclaimed from end-of-life EV batteries
- Number of automakers entering into battery recycling agreements
- Total GWh of cathode and anode components produced per year
- Percentage of nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper recovered from end-of-life EV batteries
- Percentage of new car sales represented by EVs
Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production | SDG 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse. | – Percentage of key raw materials reclaimed from end-of-life EV batteries – Number of automakers entering into battery recycling agreements |
| SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure | SDG 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes. | – Total GWh of cathode and anode components produced per year – Percentage of nickel, cobalt, lithium, and copper recovered from end-of-life EV batteries |
| SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy | SDG 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. | – Percentage of new car sales represented by EVs |
Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.
Source: utilitydive.com
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