Electric vehicles are growing in popularity, and although not yet commonplace in the RV world, the batteries these vehicles use are found more and more in RVs, particularly those oriented toward solar power and going off-grid. A California company is already thinking ahead to solve what will become a vexing problem in the not-too-distant-future: What do you do with those EV batteries when they have reached the end of their usable life?
As electric vehicles grow in popularity, there’s a related challenge on the horizon: how to dispose of worn-out EV batteries.
Why it matters: If the U.S. can salvage those end-of-life battery packs, it could reuse the critical minerals inside to make new batteries, creating a sustainable domestic supply chain. That could help make EVs more affordable and prevent shortages like the current semiconductor crisis.
Driving the news: An ambitious startup called Redwood Materials has enlisted Ford Motor and Volvo Cars as partners on a pilot to figure out how to wrangle all those batteries in a safe, sustainable and cost-effective way.
The pilot will begin in California – America’s EV capital – where Redwood will work with dealers and dismantlers to collect old batteries and then safely transport them to its Nevada facilities for processing.
While Ford and Volvo are helping to fund the pilot, Redwood will accept lithium-ion and nickel metal hydride batteries from any EVs and hybrids.
Where it stands: The U.S. is still a few years off from seeing large quantities of old batteries piling up, but the time to start preparing is now, said Redwood CEO J.B. Straubel, who was a co-founder of Tesla.
“I think we’re going to see the numbers really, really pick up probably in two to three years, starting in California, simply because it is the oldest EV market,” he told reporters Thursday.
Between the lines: Most EV batteries come with a warranty of eight years or more, but early evidence shows they tend to outlast those guarantees.
That has some carmakers even touting the emergence of a million-mile battery.
To read the rest of the article from Joann Muller at Axios.com, click here.
