Electric vehicles are critical to reducing transportation pollution and solving the climate crisis, but manufacturing them at the necessary scale will require significantly increasing production of the batteries that power them. How batteries are made, what they are made of, and whether they are reused or recycled affect the sustainability of this crucial component.
Even though batteries last many years, they eventually reach the end of their useful life for powering electric vehicles. Policies and incentives for recycling and reusing batteries, including strong health and labor standards, will further lessen the impacts of electric vehicles.
In this report
Reducing cobalt in batteries
Reserves of materials used in lithium-ion batteries
Projected annual global demand for battery materials
Meeting US passenger EV battery demand with recycled materials
Mine to wheel life cycle emissions
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Citation
Ambrose, Hanjiro and Jimmy O’Dea. 2021. Electric Vehicle Batteries: Addressing Questions about Critical Materials and Recycling. Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/ev-battery-recycling
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