Environmental
- What goes into an electric vehicle battery?
An EV battery is a high-voltage energy storage block that powers your electric vehicle. The battery packs are made of smaller module blocks that contain cells. The cells consist of a cathode (positive terminal), a separator with liquid electrolyte and an anode (negative terminal).
In terms of the raw materials making up each part of an EV battery, the differences in the cathode side in particular result in the main battery types available here in Australia. These are Lithium-ion, which includes Nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) and Nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) and Lithium-ferrous-phosphate, which includes Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP). You can find all these battery types in EVs in Australia. Each has pros and cons in terms of sustainability, charging speed, storage capacity and longevity.
- Are electric vehicle batteries bad for the environment?
Despite EV batteries being energy-intensive to produce, these emissions will be offset during the life of the vehicle. We can’t forget that EVs have zero exhaust emissions, which is good for the environment. This ABC report analysed data from the Electric Vehicle Council that compares the emissions profile of a mid-sized petrol car vs an equivalent EV over 15 years or 189,000km. The data shows that while EVs use more emissions to make before they hit the road, it’s not long before there’s a big switch. Over its lifetime, the EV saves 30 tonnes of Co2 when compared to the petrol car.
When a battery can only recharge to 75% of its original capacity, it can’t be used in an EV anymore. But EV batteries still store significant amounts of energy at this point in their lifecycle, so they can be repurposed. EV batteries are being converted into stationary storage to power homes, buildings and the wider electricity grid. The Electric Vehicle Council says used EV batteries could last up to another 10 years in these functions.
Once the energy capacity has dropped significantly below original levels, these batteries can then be recycled into materials used to build new batteries. This is currently a costly process only available to manufacturers, though it's expected that won't be the case for long. There are hopes of having almost a closed loop where batteries are fully recycled and remanufactured into new batteries.
And in terms of the sustainability and ethical issues of mining battery minerals such as cobalt, many carmakers are committed to ensuring the minerals they source are traceable and transparent. The same can’t be said for petrol. Manufacturers are also leaning more toward battery chemistries that don’t rely on cobalt, like LFP batteries.
- Can electric vehicle batteries be recycled in Australia?
Yes, old EV batteries are currently recycled in Australia using a combination of onshore and offshore processing. But a lack of batteries that have reached their end of life here is hampering the growth of Australia’s EV recycling industry. The ones that do need recycling are usually due to manufacturer recalls, are out of warranty or are damaged in car accidents.
Several Australian startups have partnered directly with vehicle manufacturers to provide recycling solutions as demand grows, and there are plans to have the whole process managed in Australia.
