Over the past year, battery recycling and lead production company Ecobat has announced the installation of three different lithium-ion recycling facilities around the world: one in Germany, one in England, and one in the state of Arizona in the U.S., Electric Vehicles Magazine reported. The frequency of these project launches might suggest more such facilities in the near future.
To recycle spent batteries, these plants and others like it focus on the production of black mass — the substance generated by disintegrating and refining battery cells and scrap parts into concentrated precious metals. Eventually, these metals can funnel back into the supply chain for more lithium-ion components.
According to the Electric Vehicles Magazine report, the three Ecobat facilities can process up to 10,000 tons of lithium-ion each year, though Ecobat intends to scale up its recycling potential by at least a factor of 2.5 in upcoming years.
Each plant caters to slightly different needs and markets. While the Germany-based plant addresses a variety of used lithium-ion batteries in everything from electric vehicles to portable electronics, the England Ecobat hub targets the same and more, offering additional diagnostic services for the greater European market.
Meanwhile, the American facility is building the lithium-ion recycling flow from the ground up, working to establish connections with manufacturers and recyclers alike to set a recycling precedent going forward.
Recycling batteries not only reduces the need for mining for lithium — a practice that both depletes our natural reserves and damages the earth and the underground in the process — but it also facilitates the advancement of eco-friendly technologies such as EVs that depend on these batteries for success.
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As lithium-ion batteries become more and more common as a storage tool for clean energy, power sources such as wind and solar will likely become more popular among consumers as well, helping us transition to a greener future.
"As EV sales are rising and more end-of-life batteries enter the market, our new facilities are well-positioned to meet these challenges, creating value for our partners and stakeholders, while helping to drive the transition to a circular economy," Ecobat's Brett Horton said, per Electric Vehicles Magazine.
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