- Many people worry that EV batteries will become e-waste, but that’s unlikely.
- EV batteries can last far longer than the average internal-combustion engine.
- Even after the vehicle itself leaves the road, the batteries will still be useful for grid storage and will be recyclable.
It’s one of the most common counter-arguments to EVs: Isn’t that big, toxic battery just going to end up in a landfill after a few years. The answer, of course, is no. Here’s why.
The first reason is obvious. These batteries don’t just last a couple of years. They have clearly proven that they can outlast the average lifetime of a car. Sure, some companies had teething issues with their battery designs, but once you work through those it’s relatively easy to consistently produce high-quality packs.
Not only that, but manufacturers have strong incentives to make them last. EV batteries in the U.S. must be warrantied for eight years and 100,000 miles. Since battery replacements are so expensive, car companies cannot afford to have a significant number of failures within the warranty period, so they must overbuild them to ensure their longevity. That’s a win for you.
But there’s a bigger reason why EV batteries won’t end up in landfills. They’re too valuable. While the ultra high-demand application of an electric vehicle may lead you to replace a pack that still has 70% of its original capacity, that same battery will still be plenty useful elsewhere. For proof, look at the example in CleanTechnica today.
The outlet spoke to Australian engineer Francisco Shi. Shi has started getting EV batteries from scrapyards and hooking them up to a disused grid connection at a former industrial building. Using the grid and solar panels, Shi can charge up the batteries when the sun is shining and grid prices are low, then sell it back during peak demand hours. He wins, because he makes a couple grand in profit every month, Australia wins because its lumpy power production curve gets smoothed out and the scrapyard wins because they can sell batteries to other consumers who want to do the same thing.
The battery in your EV can be a source of backup power to your home. And even if the car gets scrapped or crashed, the battery will still be useful for that kind of work.
It’s not hard to imagine this type of system scaling. Our ability to produce solar panels and, thus, clean energy is increasing constantly. But in the sunniest places with the most solar penetration, we’re already producing so much power that it can’t all be used. The grid—which was built around consistent sources of energy—needs far more storage to take advantage of renewable sources like solar and wind.
EV batteries will help it do that. That should lead to lower electricity prices for everyone, and far fewer carbon emissions.
Even outside of those benefits, though, having a battery around the house is helpful. You can use it in lieu of a generator to power the house in emergencies, and we’ve already seen how useful that can be.
If, however, nobody wants the battery, it’s still not going to end up in a landfill. The raw materials inside are far too valuable to be discarded, which is why a battery recycling supply chain is spinning up across the world. It’s not all there yet—there just aren’t enough batteries being thrown out at this point—but countless businesses are working on figuring out the economics of large-scale automotive pack recycling.
Point is, battery waste shouldn’t be much of a problem. Batteries are valuable, and when society values something, it’s far less likely to waste it.
Contact the author: Mack.Hogan@insideevs.com.
