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Want Clean Energy? Then You Also Want Battery Recycling.

Union of Concerned Scientists

Lithium-ion batteries are essential for decarbonizing transportation through electric vehicles and building a resilient, renewable energy grid through energy storage batteries. Recycling must ramp up. There are huge opportunities for recycling to decrease the need for newly mined materials in batteries.

Recycling 299
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Are EV Batteries Recyclable?

Union of Concerned Scientists

As electric vehicle (EV) sales continue to increase, questions about how these cars and their batteries will be disposed of have been top of mind for current owners, future buyers, policymakers, and many experts in the automotive industry. Current lithium-ion battery collection, repurposing, and recycling network in North America.

Recycling 362
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Solar Panels Should Be Reused and Recycled. Here’s How.

Union of Concerned Scientists

It is more like a straight line from silica mine, to refining factory, to shimmering batch of shining polysilicon ingots, to panel assembly , to a couple decades generating clean electricity—and then, far too often, to a landfill. Among those that are recycled, very few have 100% of their material recovered.

Recycling 299
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Why New DOE Battery Recycling and Repurposing Investments Are Crucial to The Future of EVs

Union of Concerned Scientists

It’s been one year since passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which included provisions to further clean transportation. Importantly, the BIL invests in electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling and repurposing– important strategies for increasing the sustainability of EVs. . million in funding.

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Guiding Principles for EV Battery Recycling Policy

Union of Concerned Scientists

Recovering these materials from retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries is an alternative source to mining. Essentially, the materials recovered through battery recycling can replace future material supply that would otherwise need to be extracted from the earth to meet demand.

Recycling 246
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Newsom Can Continue His Climate Leadership by Signing These Three Bills 

Union of Concerned Scientists

They demand electricity to charge while climate-fueled disasters are jeopardizing energy reliability. And there is a snowball of retired EV batteries on the horizon without a responsible party in charge of recycling them. EVs are abundant in much of the state, but polluting, old vehicles remain in lower-income neighborhoods.

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How Are Lithium-ion Batteries that Store Solar and Wind Power Made?

Union of Concerned Scientists

The renewable energy transition involves harnessing epic forces of nature. Sleek solar panels forged from silver and silica from the depths of the Earth translate the sun’s blindingly fiery light energy into electricity. Batteries help store surplus energy. Source: UniEnergy Technologies / Wikimedia Commons. Source: UCS.