A report prepared by an environmental not-for-profit organization known as the Institute for Sustainable Futures for Earthworks proposes that recycled metals may help meet a huge chunk of the steadily growing demand of electric cars.
The report centers on copper, nickel, lithium and cobalt, which are all important lithium-ion battery ingredients. It proposes that recycling metals could decrease mined demand for copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium two decades from now. Lithium, which has various uses in different industries, has the fastest projected rate of demand growth.
The current recycling rates for these metals in the general end market vary from nearly 68% for nickel and cobalt to under 1% for lithium. Lithium recycling is extremely low because its recovery is both uneconomic and challenging. In addition, metal recovery from lithium-ion battery recycling varies from 80% for cobalt and 10% for copper.
The report notes that while the recycling of li-ion batteries mainly focuses on the recovery of nickel and cobalt, which are the most economical to recover, recovery rates of more than 90% are achievable for all four minerals. At the moment, however, current practices used to recover minerals cannot recover those metals at a quality that is suitable for manufacturing new batteries.
New processes of recycling are being developed, propelled by consumer, government and manufacturer concerns about the management of used Li-ion batteries. Thus far, only about 150,00 electric car Li-ion batteries have reached their end of life.
The report also observed that with the right policy requirements and economic incentives, 25% to 55% of the projected demand for electric vehicle batteries over the next 20 years could be counterbalanced by optimizing the recovery of battery metals. In addition to this, the report noted that standards for durability and performance of second- and first-life electric car batteries, standardization of Li-ion batteries to allow recycling and policies for the collection of used electric car batteries, such as those that exist for lead-acid batteries, would lead to an improvement in the recycling of Li-ion batteries.
However, the report also emphasizes that recycling by itself won’t be enough to meet the projected growth rate in the demand for battery minerals. It suggests that reusing batteries in second-life applications and extending Li-ion battery life past 15 years also has the potential to decrease the demand of mined metals. Additionally, the report proposes the enactment of policies that dis-incentivize private car ownership and encourage the use of public transportation.
As companies, such as Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR), work in other associated verticals that include provision of uranium to avail clean energy to charge EVs, the electrification of all roads will be on course to realize immense benefits for the sustainability cause.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU) (TSX: EFR) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/UUUU
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