The EU expects 30 million electric vehicles on European highways, in 2030. Electric vehicles (EVs) do not emit CO2 during service. But people fear about power loss in batteries.
EV components are identical to those used in conventional vehicles. But the battery is by far the most significant difference. Traditional lead-acid batteries can be recycled but lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles cannot be recycled.
EV batteries are thicker and heavier than regular car batteries. It is made up of a slew of small lithium-ion cells that all have to be dismantled. They also contain poisonous chemicals. And because of this, they will burst if reassembled incorrectly. Dr. Anderson, co-director of the Birmingham Centre for Strategic Elements and Critical Materials noted that obtaining detailed figures would be difficult. This is regardless of whether the number everyone cites is around 5%, with some areas of the world having even lower numbers. And also, regardless of the percentage of lithium-ion batteries that are recycled.
EV manufacturers will be responsible for ensuring that their products are not simply discarded somewhere at the end of their useful lives. This is according to the European Union’s most recent guidelines. And then manufacturers are already preparing to meet this task. For example, Nissan has been retrofitting old Leaf batteries in automated vehicles that transport parts to factory workers.