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Scientists Learned That Recycled Li-Ion Batteries Are Actually Better Than the New Ones

Many still think the world will be flooded by used Li-Ion batteries when the current electric vehicles would be decommissioned. It turns out they might be wrong. Recent research shows that Li-Ion batteries can be efficiently recycled, and the recycled cells are even better than new ones.
Recycled Li-Ion batteries are better than the new ones 8 photos
Photo: Volkswagen
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There are many types of Li-Ion batteries in use today, but people still refer to them in bulk. Those used in electric vehicles, for instance, are fundamentally different from those used in cell phones and laptops. One thing is true for all of them, though, that their life is limited. And although EV batteries could take more than a decade to become unusable, they will still need to be recycled at the end of their life cycle.

This allows the naysayers to claim that electric vehicles are an environmental nightmare compared to ICE cars. After all, there’s so much you can do with all those millions of used car batteries a few years down the road when they’ll become unusable. Surprisingly, people never thought of recycling as a viable solution. After all, humans are recycling stuff for decades already.

It is true, there are few things worth recycling, so many just toss them in the garbage can and just be done with them. But in the case of Li-Ion batteries, there’s money in them. Recycling Li-ion cells is already a profitable business, as we’ve learned from an industry veteran. But are the recycled batteries any good? After all, this is what determines whether electric vehicles have a future, as many of them would use recycled cells a decade from now.

According to JB Straubel, CEO of Redwood Materials, recycled materials from the Li-Ion batteries tend to get more pure with each additional cycle of manufacturing and refining. Far from affecting their performance, this enhances their quality, resulting in better batteries. This is a surprising finding, but it was confirmed by recent scientific studies. Not only the recycled batteries perform just as well as new ones, but they also last longer and charge faster.

For this to be true, a new recycling technique is used, that keeps most of the cathode intact while scrapping all other materials in the battery. Next, fresh materials such as nickel and cobalt are added to the cathode to ensure the ratio of ingredients is just right. What results is an effectively refreshed cathode powder, composed of tiny crystalline particles that can be stuck onto a metal strip and placed in a “new” battery.

Researchers found the recycled powder particles are more porous and thus allow for a more exposed surface area than the cathodes built from scratch. As a result, the recycled batteries charge faster than those using newly mined materials. Although the process is currently still in research form, it is being scaled up by Ascend Elements, a company that has specialized in recycling Li-Ion batteries.

Eventually, the goal is to also extend this process to new batteries. This would require all the cathodes to have that porous structure that allows for improved performance. Soon recycled Li-Ion batteries would become not only common but also desirable.
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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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