Photo: Tesla
Many people still believe that used EV batteries will go to landfills at the end of their useful life. The truth is, Li-Ion batteries are too precious to be wasted, and Tesla confirmed it recycles every battery it can get. As much as 92% of the raw materials in a Li-Ion battery can be extracted and start a new life in another Li-Ion battery.
Unlike fossil fuel, which burns and breaks into deadly chemicals and harmful gases, Li-Ion batteries can be reused almost indefinitely. Very few EV Li-Ion batteries reached their end-of-life stage though, considering the electric vehicles only started their meaningful life some 10 years ago. Even so, there are companies that thrive on recycling EV batteries. Tesla is also recycling batteries itself, and the 2021 Impact Report shows that every battery gigafactory that Tesla operates has or will get battery recycling capability.
Of course, a longer lifecycle beats recycling in terms of environmental impact, and Tesla has shown willingness to roll out updates that extend a battery’s lifetime. But software updates can only achieve so much and eventually, a Li-Ion battery will no longer provide enough range to an electric vehicle. Even so, it can be repurposed for energy storage in a stationary system, but sooner or later it will need to be scrapped.
Tesla has prepared for this with a closed-loop battery recycling process that takes used batteries and recovers up to 92% of the raw materials for use in new batteries. This can be done over and over again, although right now are very few used batteries available. Most of them, according to Tesla’s 2021 Impact Report, are batteries used in R&D and those that failed the quality control.
Tesla has installed the first phase of battery recycling at its Nevada gigafactory in 2020 for in-house processing of both battery manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries. By the end of 2021, this facility achieved a production rate of over 50 tons of recycled material per week. Later on, battery recycling facilities will expand to all battery factories that Tesla operates, including Giga Berlin and Giga Texas.
Of course, a longer lifecycle beats recycling in terms of environmental impact, and Tesla has shown willingness to roll out updates that extend a battery’s lifetime. But software updates can only achieve so much and eventually, a Li-Ion battery will no longer provide enough range to an electric vehicle. Even so, it can be repurposed for energy storage in a stationary system, but sooner or later it will need to be scrapped.
Tesla has prepared for this with a closed-loop battery recycling process that takes used batteries and recovers up to 92% of the raw materials for use in new batteries. This can be done over and over again, although right now are very few used batteries available. Most of them, according to Tesla’s 2021 Impact Report, are batteries used in R&D and those that failed the quality control.
Tesla has installed the first phase of battery recycling at its Nevada gigafactory in 2020 for in-house processing of both battery manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries. By the end of 2021, this facility achieved a production rate of over 50 tons of recycled material per week. Later on, battery recycling facilities will expand to all battery factories that Tesla operates, including Giga Berlin and Giga Texas.
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