To reduce their dependence on the import of key materials from other countries, many companies have decided to construct their own facilities for the recycling of batteries. Existing recycling methods are based on chemical extraction processes tailored for single, specific elements (mainly, lithium and cobalt). The need of the hour is a new technology/solution that will help to overcome the challenge of having separate extraction processes for various elements.
Given the challenges battery disposal presents, recycling works as an opportunity to increase profit margins and decrease footprint, which will act as additional benefits for stakeholders. Battery manufacturers are working on a unified design that will be easy to dismantle; information can also be shared about battery controlling systems’ interfaces and communication protocol.
Collaborations between private and public entities will become an important strategy for effective advanced vehicle battery recycling. Innovative business models such as the Tesla-Umicore partnership create arrangements that are as good for the company as they are for the community; they also demonstrate how a recycling system can be both profitable and environmentally sound.
Supportive regulations that focus on the recycling of Li-ion batteries will alleviate material scarcity, lower material costs, and reduce energy usage, emission, and mining-related impacts. Robust investments in collection and recycling infrastructure and technology for new-generation vehicle batteries, along with effective regulations, will promote higher collection and recycling rates for Li-ion batteries.
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Electric vehicles (EVs) are still a small part of the vehicle market and the few retired EV batteries coming out of vehicles are being tested in a range of pilot-scale applications or simply stored while technology or infrastructure for recycling improves. While the majority of consumer electronic wastes have historically been destined for the landfill, lithium batteries contain valuable metals and other materials that can be recovered, processed, and reused to make more batteries.
There are many promising strategies for recycling lithium-ion batteries (LIB), but there are also technical, economic, logistic, and regulatory barriers to resolve. As the Hitz Climate Fellow for the Union of Concerned Scientists, I’ll be taking a look at some of the challenges and opportunities for battery reuse and recycling over the next year. This is a quick overview of the current state of battery recycling which highlights opportunities to close the loop on battery materials and create a sustainable value chain for lithium batteries.
The end of life?
When an electric vehicle comes off the road, either from accident or age, battery systems will need to be processed. After primary use in a vehicle, potential end of life pathways for used electric vehicle batteries include reuse, or repurposing (“second life”), materials recovery (recycling), and disposal. Regardless of whether batteries are reused, they will eventually need to be recycled or disposed of. Understanding the opportunities and barriers to recycling is critical to reduce environmental impacts from improper disposal, and to account for benefits from recovered materials and avoided mining of virgin resources.
A handful of large-scale facilities recycle lithium batteries today using pyrometallurgical, or smelting, processes. These plants use high temperatures (~1500oC) to burn off impurities and recover cobalt, nickel, and copper. Lithium and aluminum are generally lost in this process, bound in waste referred to as slag. Some lithium can be recovered from slag using secondary processes. Today’s smelting facilities are expensive and energy-intensive, in part due to the need to treat toxic fluorine emissions, and have relatively low rates of material recovery.
According to the US Advanced Battery Consortium standards, an EV battery reaches the end of its usable life when its current cell capacity is less than 80% of the rated capacity. But there are still a lot of unknowns as to when EV batteries will be retired. For example, the average vehicle is on the road in the United States for more than 12 years; modern EVs with large lithium-ion battery packs have been on the market for less than 8 years, with over 50% of sales occurring in the last two years.
A second-life for batteries
A second-life application for used batteries is an appealing opportunity for battery and vehicle manufacturers to make EVs more affordable and potentially generate more profit. Reuse also extends the lifetime of batteries, and potentially displaces some new batteries from stationary applications, all of which reduces the overall impacts of battery production.
In some cases, batteries could be refurbished for use directly in another vehicle, potentially extending the useful life of many vehicle systems. So when a battery pack dies prematurely, functioning modules and cells can often be recombined to create refurbished battery packs for other vehicles.
Given the large size and high performance of modern vehicle batteries, retired batteries could still offer significant capacity after being retired from use in a vehicle. As batteries are charged and discharged, their performance degrades. Degradation results in is less stored energy being accessible for powering the vehicle; in other words, the vehicle won’t drive as far on a single charge. But in less demanding applications, EV batteries might get a second-life. While the high-power demands of a vehicle render stored energy inaccessible, batteries might be able to serve an additional 6 to 10 years in a lower-power, stationary application storing energy from solar panels to be used in off-grid or peak demand-shaving applications.
One key barrier for reuse has been the continually improving economics and performance of new batteries. The price of new batteries fell over an order of magnitude while performance has improved, effectively pricing out used batteries from some applications. The integrated construction and design of current battery packs and proprietary management software also limit component replacement and increase the costs of testing and repurposing
]]>With these differences in chemistry come differences in performance and cost. While both lithium-ion and lead-acid battery options can be effective storage solutions, here’s how they stack up when compared head to head in key categories:
| LITHIUM-ION | LEAD ACID | |
| Cost | X | |
| Capacity | X | |
| Depth of discharge | X | |
| Efficiency | X | |
| Lifespan | X |
In most cases, lithium-ion battery technology is superior to lead-acid due to its reliability and efficiency, among other attributes. However, in cases of small off-grid storage systems that aren’t used regularly, less expensive lead-acid battery options can be preferable.
Lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries can both store energy effectively, but each has unique advantages and drawbacks. Here are some important comparison points to consider when deciding on a battery type:
The one category in which lead-acid batteries seemingly outperform lithium-ion options is in their cost. A lead-acid battery system may cost hundreds or thousands of dollars less than a similarly-sized lithium-ion setup – lithium-ion batteries currently cost anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 including installation, and this range can go higher or lower depending on the size of system you need.
While lead-acid batteries typically have lower purchase and installation costs compared to lithium-ion options, the lifetime value of a lithium-ion battery evens the scales. Below, we’ll outline other important features of each battery type to consider, and explain why these factors contribute to an overall higher value for lithium-ion battery systems.
A battery’s capacity is a measure of how much energy can be stored (and eventually discharged) by the battery. While capacity numbers vary between battery models and manufacturers, lithium-ion battery technology has been well-proven to have a significantly higher energy density than lead-acid batteries. This means that more energy can be stored in a lithium-ion battery using the same physical space. Because you can store more energy with lithium-ion technology, you can discharge more energy, thus power more appliances for longer periods of time.
A battery’s depth of discharge is the percentage of the battery that can be safely drained of energy without damaging the battery. While it is normal to use 85 percent or more of a lithium-ion battery’s total capacity in a single cycle, lead-acid batteries should not be discharged past roughly 50 percent, as doing so negatively impacts the lifetime of the battery. The superior depth of discharge possible with lithium-ion technology means that lithium-ion batteries have an even higher effective capacity than lead-acid options, especially considering the higher energy density in lithium-ion technology mentioned above.
Just like solar panel efficiency, battery efficiency is an important metric to consider when comparing different options. Most lithium-ion batteries are 95 percent efficient or more, meaning that 95 percent or more of the energy stored in a lithium-ion battery is actually able to be used. Conversely, lead-acid batteries see efficiencies closer to 80 to 85 percent. Higher efficiency batteries charge faster, and similarly to the depth of discharge, improved efficiency means a higher effective battery capacity.
Batteries are also similar to solar panels in that they degrade over time and become less effective as they age. Discharging a battery to power your home or appliances and then recharging it with solar energy or the grid counts as one “cycle”. The numbers vary from study to study, but lithium-ion batteries generally last for several times the number of cycles as lead-acid batteries, leading to a longer effective lifespan for lithium-ion products.
If you need a battery backup system, both lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries can be effective options. However, it’s usually the right decision to install a lithium-ion battery given the many advantages of the technology – longer lifetime, higher efficiencies, and higher energy density. Despite having higher upfront costs, lithium-ion batteries are usually more valuable than lead-acid options.
One case where lead-acid batteries may be the better decision is in a scenario with an off-grid solar installation that isn’t used very frequently. For example, keeping a lead-acid battery on a boat or RV as a backup power source that is only used every month or so is a less expensive option than lithium-ion, and due to the lower usage rate, you’ll avoid many of the drawbacks of lead-acid technology, such as their shorter lifespan.
With any large purchase like solar and batteries (paired or separately), you want to consider your options. You can sign up on the EnergySage Marketplace to receive turnkey quotes for solar installation from pre-screened local solar installers. If battery storage is something you’re interested in pairing with your system, we recommend adding a note in your account preferences specifying you’re interested in pricing and information about batteries. Even if a solar installer doesn’t install batteries themselves, they can design a solar panel system so that you can
]]>Lead and lead-containing compounds have been used for millennia, initially for plumbing and cookware, but now find application across a wide range of industries and technologies. shows the global quantities of lead used across a number of applications including lead-acid batteries (LABs), cable sheathing, rolled and extruded products, ammunition, alloys, pigments, and gasoline additives during the latter part of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first centuries. A general trend of decreasing lead use occurred for most applications since the 1980s with the exception of LABs. The consumption of lead through the production of LABs increased from 0.6 Mt of lead in 1960 to 10 Mt in 2012, when it accounted for greater than 85% of lead used. This increase was due to two factors, the increased number of automotive vehicles and so-called ‘deep cycle’ LABs which are popular for standby and emergency power supply, with automotive LABs accounting for 75% and deep cycle LABs 25% of the sector. LABs are popular, particularly in the automotive sector, because the chemistry is mature, robust, and well understood and they can deliver the high, initial burst of power necessary for the starter ignition of internal combustion engines. It is also worth noting that LABs are still present in state-of-the-art hybrid and fully electric vehicles due to their position as ‘the’ energy storage device for the 12 V internal electronics
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It is illegal to dispose of batteries in the trash. Batteries contain corrosive materials and heavy metals that can contaminate the environment. This significantly reduces the dangers these batteries pose to human health and the environment by diverting them from landfills and incinerators.
The toxic materials within the batteries can be released into the environment and pose serious threats to human health and the environment. If placed in landfills, the toxic materials can leak into the soil, which can then reach our water supply. If incinerated, toxic fumes are produced.
All batteries, disposable and rechargeable, with the exception of automotive-type lead-acid batteries, may be placed in the battery collection containers. If you have a leaking or damaged battery
Just drop them off at the nearest battery bin and Contact BPL Nigeria.
You may keep batteries in your workspace for 1 month; then they should be placed in a recycling bin or picked up by Recycling.
All batteries should be segregated by category to facilitate proper shipping to the appropriate recycling center. Batteries may be boxed, enclosed in ziplock bags, envelopes, or taped together, etc. Specific consideration should be given to the weight and size of the entire package to ensure that it remains intact during the pickup, handling, and transportation. All rechargeable batteries, and lithium or magnesium single-use batteries should have the terminals taped for safe transportation. Use non-conductive tape and place it around the top and bottom of the batteries.
These batteries should be containerized securely and labeled as “leaking batteries” preferably in a double zip lock or plastic bags appropriate for their size and weight. Do not mix the broken batteries with intact cartridges, since the entire batch will be contaminated with corrosive waste and require additional vendor labor to process properly for shipping and disposal.
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