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Recycling Lithium-Ion Batteries from Electric Vehicles
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Recycling Lithium-Ion Batteries from Electric Vehicles

Gavin Harper, Roberto Sommerville, Emma Kendrick, Laura Driscoll, Peter Slater, Rustam Stolkin, Allan Walton, Paul Christensen, Oliver Heidrich, Simon Lambert, Andrew Abbott, Karl Ryder, Linda Gaines and Paul Anderson
Nature, 2019
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Innovative
  • Scientific

Recommendation

The burgeoning electric vehicle industry already provides some relief to conservationists concerned about global warming, but dealing with their end-of-life batteries presents significant challenges. Processes for recycling spent lithium-ion batteries are being refined to extract their valuable raw components, or make them available for second use in power grids. To maximize this technology, the authors of this detailed article suggest that manufacturers must design more efficient, standardized batteries that are simpler and less hazardous to produce, re-use and recycle.  

Take-Aways

  • Conservationists and scientists must focus on reducing waste in the process of recycling lithium ion batteries (LIBs).
  • Sustaining electric vehicle production requires the international coordination of recycling programs.
  • Storing, testing and disassembling LIBs can be hazardous.

About the Authors

Gavin Harper is a Faraday Institution Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham and responsible for the development of the Birmingham Energy Institute. Paul Anderson is a reader in inorganic and materials chemistry and leader of the Materials Chemistry Research Theme in the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham.

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