Recycling readiness of advanced batteries for electric vehicles

Maximizing the reclamation/recycle of electric-vehicle (EV) batteries is considered to be essential for the successful commercialization of this technology. Since the early 1990s, the US Department of Energy has sponsored the ad hoc advanced battery readiness working group to review this and other possible barriers to the widespread use of EVs, such as battery shipping and in-vehicle safety. Regulation is currently the main force for growth in EV numbers and projections for the states that have zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) programs indicate about 200,000 of these vehicles would be offered to the public in 2003 to meet those requirements. The ad hoc Advanced Battery Readiness Working Group has identified a matrix of battery technologies that could see use in EVs and has been tracking the state of readiness of recycling processes for each of them. Lead-acid, nickel/metal hydride, and lithium-ion are the three EV battery technologies proposed by the major automotive manufacturers affected by ZEV requirements. Recycling approaches for the two advanced battery systems on this list are partly defined, but could be modified to recover more value from end-of-life batteries. The processes being used or planned to treat these batteries are reviewed, as well as those being considered for other longer-term technologies in the battery recycling readiness matrix. Development efforts needed to prepare for recycling the batteries from a much larger EV population than exists today are identified