It’s almost a matter of life or death. We must minimize carbon footprint and ours environmental impact if we want to avoid disaster. Keeping this in mind, the benefactors said that the car should be here today Eco-friendlywith some CO2 emissions nothing. That’s how I was born forced electrification parking lots With the deadline on everyone’s mind: 2035 year. The date of the vote of Brussels and the European Commission, on which construction workers no longer have the right to it selling with new thermal vehicles.

So, electric cars gradually become the new normal. But if tomorrow we all go electric without exception, what will happen to the end of life of our zero-emission cars? First of all, about what battery recycling ? It is the last point that causes the most concern.

Battery recycling: an overview of the entire industry

Production of batteries for electric vehicles is a an expensive process. An expensive process because it requires many rare metalsmostly produced on abroad. Europe has no choice. To find a a certain independence faced with the import of metals, it is important to develop a highly productive processing channel.

However, Rome was not built in a day. Battery recycling actually includes rethink almost whole industry. As a reminder (or for information), a car must indeed, as part of its homologation, be suitable for reuse or recycling by 85% of its mass. And it is the processing of batteries – weighing from 250 to 600 kg – that is the main challenge.

In 2019 French professionals could only process 5000 tons per year. In scale Europethis number increased between 15,000 and 20,000 tons…Far from what we should be able to do according to Olga Kergaravatsenior battery engineer at Ademe: ” Therefore, Europe will have to triples its processing power until 2027. »

And from here 2035 yearit is estimated that the tonnage to be recycled for battery recycling could reach from 300,000 to 700,000 tons !

New European regulation

What’s worse, battery recycling processes can also be changed. Today, the European standard requires disposal not less than 50% by mass drums
But the new European regulation, which is currently under discussion, should soon see the light of day. He could change everything by imposing 65% of the weight on processing drums from 2025 and 70% by 2030.

As if that wasn’t enough, recyclers will be forced to do so to mine 90% cobalt, 90% copper, 35% lithium and 90% nickel from 2026. ” Recovery goals metals, this is a big first in Europe – says Olga Kergaravat.

Finally, the composition of the batteries will also be reviewed. our colleagues from Science & Vie recall that from 2035 European batteries will have to contain 20% cobalt, 10% lithium and 12% recycled nickel.

What solutions?

Despite the fact that they have found solutions for the production and recycling of batteries in an optimal way, some manufacturers imagine alternative solutions. For good reason, some batteries may not go straight into the recycling bin at the end of their life. Some manufacturers are thinking, for example, of using the latter, giving them a second life to store electricity produced by solar panels.

Nevertheless, Olga Kergaravat is pessimistic about this with ours colleagues from Science & Vie : ” We don’t have enough reviews yet. In addition, technology is changing rapidly, and the cost of new batteries is constantly falling. Those designed to store renewable energy could be more efficient and cheaper than 10-year-old car batteries. »

In summary, battery recycling is far from a long calm river…

Source: Science & Vie, #1262