A Chinese startup has made major strides in a critical field of recycling batteries, and it could fundamentally alter the landscape of electric vehicles moving forward.
According to the World Economic Forum, Chinese company Botree Recycling is in the business of breaking down spent lithium-ion batteries. Using trademarked, low-cost chemical processes, the company is extracting lithium, nickel, and cobalt from the waste of those batteries.
Making this even more exciting, those materials are extracted at a purity level that allows them to be recycled into new batteries.
One of the biggest criticisms of EVs and the lithium-ion batteries they use is that mining the rare metals has a profoundly negative impact on the environment. While mining those minerals ultimately has less of an impact on the environment and atmosphere than driving gas-powered cars does, it can be difficult to overlook the negative impact that the mining and refining of these metals has.
Because batteries have historically been virtually impossible to recycle when they're spent, more lithium and other elements need to be mined as demand increases. On top of that, as World Economic Forum points out, if demand continues to increase, it will outstrip the available supply of lithium and other metals by 2030.
However, if Botree's process is scalable and usable at a truly industrial level, those concerns are greatly reduced. If we can reuse the materials in spent batteries, it makes it much, much easier to create new ones with minimal environmental impact.
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Reusing battery materials also reduces the risk of toxic chemicals leaching into the soil and groundwater, keeping humans and the environment safer. The circular economy of battery metals is crucial to the continued growth of the EV market around the world.
EVs reduce pollution output on the road, helping to curb rising global temperatures. Making their manufacturing process more eco-friendly furthers those benefits, allowing for cleaner air and safer environment for humans and wildlife.
Battery technology continues to make massive advances, as Chinese companies introduce better and better batteries. A British company has claimed it has developed a battery that can reach a full charge in just 18 seconds, while a Volkswagen-backed company has produced a solid-state battery that has a much longer range.
If Botree's process can be scaled, it could revolutionize the battery industry and help keep the booming market growing.
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