Recycling of electric car batteries could reduce Europe’s dependence on imports by up to 25%
Recycling electric car batteries could allow Europe to reduce its dependence on corresponding battery imports from third countries by up to 25%.
According to research by the European Federation for Transport and the Environment, materials from end-of-life batteries could make up to 2.4 million electric cars from 2030 onwards.
Recycling used cells could provide 14% of the lithium, 16% of the nickel, 17% of the manganese and 25% of the cobalt that Europe will need for electric cars in 2030. These percentages could increase significantly and for Europe to be able to be almost self-sufficient in cobalt used for the production of electric cars from 2040.
These materials that will be the result of recycling will be enough for the construction between 1.3 and 2.4 million electric vehicles in 2030, they can reach 10 million in 2035 and up to 15 million electric vehicles by 2040. The expected volumes of recycled secondary materials will be more than enough to meet the recycled content targets for lithium, nickel and cobalt in the new EU battery regulation.
Recycled battery materials can also replace the need for primary oresavoiding the need to build 12 new mines worldwide by 2040 (4 lithium, 3 nickel, 4 cobalt and 1 manganese mine). Lithium recycling in Europe can save almost 20% of CO2 compared to mining methods. This will also reduce the potential negative impacts on water, soil and biodiversity in the specific places where the mines exist.
In addition to reducing both mining and raw material imports, recycling in Europe could reduce the carbon footprint of lithium supply by 19% compared to mining in Australian and Chinese mines. This is due to the cleanest electricity network in Europe.
“If Europe implements its recycling plans, it can reduce its dependence on imported critical metals. The expected volumes of recycled materials can enable Europe to build millions of pure electric vehicles,” emphasized, among others, the senior director for vehicle supply chains and mobility of the European Federation for Transport and the Environment, Julia Poliscanova.
Source: Skai
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