Contrary to what anti-EV advocates claim, used EV battery will not end up in the dump once their capacity has decreased enough that they are no longer suitable for use as an EV. This is usually between 60-70% of the original capacity. Instead, they will be used in stationary storage applications for many years (this is already true for Nissan LEAF battery that have ended their lives in cars).
They won’t be thrown away even after the second use. However, if they were, it would not be harmful to spent Li-ion battery–another myth perpetuated in fear of EVs. They are too valuable to be thrown away. Instead, they will be recycled
Many battery recyclers are increasing their capacity. There aren’t many end-of-life batteries in the recycling stream right now because most of them are still in use. It will take time before the economies allow for battery recycling to favor recyclers over the mining/processing stream for new construction. But eventually, this will happen.
Companies are developing at least three recycling methods that can recover close to 100% to 85% of the original battery materials. These processes are similar to those used to process raw materials. However, all materials are found in the same place and are not distributed in different geographic regions. The three methods start with the grinding of the battery to a powder, which can then be processed using either pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical technologies (the pyro technique cannot recover graphite, but hydro can). The third method of development uses electromagnetic waves to separate materials into their constituent minerals.
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