Globally, the transport sector has long been one of the most reliant sectors on fossil fuels, accounting for 37% of total CO2 emissions in 2021 (IEA, 2023). Transport by road consistently accounts for more than half of the emissions (Figure 1). In an effort to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has accelerated in recent years and so has the demand for lithium-ion batteries. According to IEA (Goodall, 2021), to achieve net carbon neutrality by the middle of the century, no new fossil-fuel-powered cars can be sold from 2035.
Figure 1: (IEA, 2023)
Automobil giants such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, etc. have all agreed and rolled out plans to stop the production and selling of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles in the next one to two decades (Castelvecchi, 2021, Milman, 2021). Similarly, some countries and cities around the world including Canada, New Zealand and Australian Capital Territory have pledged to phase out new fossil-fuel-powered vehicles in the coming decades (Castelvecchi, 2021, Milman, 2021). Although EVs only made up 4.2% of light commercial vehicle sales in 2020, sales increased by nearly twice compared to 2019 (World Economic Forum, 2021). This figure was duplicated again in 2021 (IEA, 2022).
While the move towards EVs is quite a certain one today (Figure 2), EVs come with their own set of problems. As mentioned in the previous blog, lithium, the key component of batteries and EVs, has its own environmental and social problems that need to be urgently addressed.
Figure 2: (Castelvecchi, 2021)
Additionally, the ability to recover and recycle lithium and other resources from EVs and batteries effectively and cost-efficiently remains a pressing issue for researchers and companies. As batteries are hazardous waste, incorrect disposal of lithium-ion batteries will have detrimental environmental impacts and adverse impacts on biodiversity (Castelvecchi, 2021). Realising the severity and scale of this issue, governments are now investing in research centres for metal recycling and have rolled out incentives for battery manufacturing companies to source from recycling firms instead of mines (Castelvecchi, 2021).
Because it is still less expensive, in most instances, to mine metals than to recycle them, a key goal is to develop processes to recover valuable metals cheaply enough to compete with freshly mined ones. “The biggest talker is money,” says Jeffrey Spangenberger, a chemical engineer at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois, who manages a US federally funded lithium-ion battery-recycling initiative, called ReCell.
Government policies are helping to encourage this: China already has financial and regulatory incentives for battery companies that source materials from recycling firms instead of importing freshly mined ones, says Hans Eric Melin, managing director of Circular Energy Storage, a consulting company in London.
Due to differences in chemical composition, recycling of batteries is most effective when battery manufacturers recycle their own batteries as they are most aware of their own chemical formula used in batteries (Castelvecchi, 2021). However, the tedious logistics behind this process make this practice a challenging one. Although it is unclear what percentage of lithium-ion batteries are being recycled today, the current capacity to recycle lithium-ion batteries from EVs is far from adequate (Reid, 2022).
Even though EVs and lithium-ion batteries continue to result in environmental pollution and social issues and it’s recycling sector is nowhere near enough, analysts believe that they will continue to stay and dominate for the time being given their significant reduction in cost making it more economically feasible than ever (Figure 3).
Figure 3: (Castelvecchi, 2021)
Reference List
Castelvecchi, D. (2021, August 17). Electric cars and batteries: how will the world produce enough? Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02222-1?error=cookies_not_supported&code=227be120-acd6-4d8a-8d8c-966f5a95751e
Goodall. (2021, February 9). Latest news Archives. Zap-Map. https://www.zap-map.com/category/latest-news/
IEA. (2022). Global EV Outlook 2022 – Data product. https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-product/global-ev-outlook-2022
IEA. (2023). Transport – Topics. https://www.iea.org/topics/transport
Milman, O. (2021, November 11). Car firms agree at Cop26 to end sale of fossil fuel vehicles by 2040. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/10/cop26-car-firms-agree-to-end-sale-of-fossil-fuel-vehicles-by-2040
Reid, C. (2022, August 1). Electric Car Batteries Lasting Longer Than Predicted Delays Recycling Programs. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2022/08/01/electric-car-batteries-lasting-longer-than-predicted-delays-recycling-programs/?sh=223d632c5332
World Economic Forum. (2021, February 19). Which countries sell the most electric cars? https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/electric-vehicles-europe-percentage-sales/