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Last week, Ford debuted the F-150 Lightning, an all-electric version of the best-selling vehicle in America. In many ways, the 530-horsepower 6,500-pound truck is reminiscent of Ford’s Model T, which made cars affordable to the middle class. With 45,000 pre-orders in the first 48 hours, Ford’s battery-powered monster accounts for about 20% of all EVs registered in the US last year

In addition to the F-150 Lightning, prominent manufacturers will be releasing hundreds of other EV versions over the next few years. But as this vital business expands, a new issue arises: how to obtain all of the minerals required to manufacture EV batteries.

All of the lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper in those batteries was once mined. To this day, much of that mining is concentrated in countries like Russia and Indonesia, where environmental oversight is typically lacking, labor standards are loose and mining has a history of fuelling local community tensions. Demand for battery materials is predicted to skyrocket as the number of EVs on the road rises from 10 million in 2020 to 145 million by 2030. Critics say the clean transit development could drive a filthy mining boom.

Experts say we need to do better at recycling EV batteries to avoid the need for new mining. While only a few EV batteries have been retired thus far, millions of tonnes are estimated to be decommissioned over the next decades. Better recycling technology and government regulations are required to avoid battery landfills.

Battery Dismantling

EV batteries are complicated technological devices, yet they are similar to the lithium-ion battery in your phone. A battery cell consists of a lithium metal cathode, a graphite anode, a separator, and a liquid electrolyte made up of lithium salt. A current is created as charged lithium ions move from anode to cathode.

To run an automobile, thousands of cells are packed into modules, which are then linked together into battery packs and protected by metal casings. Each of these massive electrochemical sandwiches can weigh over a thousand pounds (the F150-Lightning battery reportedly weighs closer to 2,000 pounds).

Batteries include most of the valuable materials that recyclers seek. But EV batteries are built to last for years and thousands of kilometers, not dismantled. “You don’t want them to fall apart at any time for any reason,” says Paul Andersen, principal investigator for the Faraday Institution’s Reuse and Recycling of Lithium-Ion Batteries (ReLib) project at the University of Birmingham.

Disassembling EV batteries is costly and hard, today’s recycling technologies are primitive. After the battery is discharged, the outer shell is removed and the modules are shredded and burned. Lithium and manganese burn, leaving an alloy slurry rich in copper, nickel, and cobalt. Strong acids can then be used to separate metals from an alloy. Toxic gases and waste products are produced during pyro- and hydrometallurgical recovery procedures, which need a lot of energy.

While cobalt and nickel are frequently recovered in considerable quantities, lithium is rarely recycled. If lithium is recovered, it is frequently unsuitable for battery production.

Direct recycling, or isolating the cathode material from individual battery cells and rehabilitating the chemical mixes therein, including adding back lithium that has been depleted from use, maybe a cleaner and more efficient solution in the future. This strategy could one day allow recyclers to recover more materials from batteries and produce more valuable end products, says Gavin Harper of the Faraday Institution.

Growing an Industry

The IEA believes that the globe can now recycle 180,000 metric tonnes of dead EV batteries per year. Comparatively, all 2019 EVs will generate 500,000 metric tonnes of battery waste.

That’s only one year. The IEA projects that by 2040, 1,300 GWh of old batteries will need to be recycled. Harper points out that an 80 kilowatt-hour Tesla Model 3 battery pack weighs slightly over a thousand pounds. If all of those dead batteries were from Tesla Model 3s, that’s approximately 8 million metric tonnes of battery trash, which is 1.3 times the bulk of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

If recycled properly, such trash may be a substantial mineral supply. The IEA forecasts that recycling could meet up to 12% of the EV industry’s mineral requirement by 2040 if the market grows at a rate that keeps global warming below 3.6°F (2°C). The same climate scenario with more positive recycling assumptions could lead to a significantly larger role for recycling.

According to a recent Earthworks analysis, recycling could supply up to 25% of the EV industry’s lithium need and up to 35% of its cobalt and nickel demands by 2040.

According to the report co-author and University of Technology Sydney research director Nick Florin, these figures “do not seek to foretell the future.” “We provide a possible future to examine the role of recycling in reducing the need for new mining.”

They stress the necessity for strong government regulations to assist EV battery recycling to realize that promise. These could include battery design standards that make recycling easier, battery take-back programs, laws that prohibit landfilling, and rules that facilitate the movement of hazardous battery waste for recycling across jurisdictions.

With the new laws, the EU will establish specific targets for mineral recovery in addition to regulating EV battery disposal. But only three states mandate lithium-ion battery manufacturers to deal with their trash.

Recycling won’t be enough to meet the demand for battery metals as the industry expands rapidly. Recycling, according to Thea Riofrancos, a political scientist at Providence College in Rhode Island who researches resource exploitation and green technology. Other strategies include developing new batteries that require fewer minerals, enhancing public transportation, and creating walkable and bikeable cities.

In the future decades, recycling may only meet a quarter to a third of our battery mineral needs, but it helps us “rethink our connection with technology,” according to Riofrancos. The idea of biophysical boundaries is reinforced by recycling.

Our lives are becoming increasingly reliant on battery-powered products, the majority of which now utilize lithium-ion batteries, such as cell phones, computers, power tools, and—most significantly for us—electric vehicles. And many of us, at the very least, have encountered some degree of battery degradation. However, electric vehicles are more expensive, and reductions in battery capacity or ability to retain a charge might have a substantial effect on your driving behavior. Consider the fuel tank of your gas-powered car dwindling over time!

So, what are EV owners to do? The University of Michigan’s research into how customers may extend the life of lithium-ion batteries (in automobiles, phones, and other devices) was recently published in the Journal of Energy Storage, and it includes a few pointers. The research was funded by the Responsible Battery Coalition, a group of companies (including Ford and Honda), universities, and organizations committed to responsible battery management now and in the future to mitigate the environmental impact of our increasingly battery-powered lifestyles. Along with an academic study into battery longevity, the team examined battery usage and charging recommendations found in user manuals from manufacturers such as BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Fiat, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Tesla.

Continue Reading To Discover Six Ways To Extend the Life of an Electric Vehicle’s Battery

1. Avoid prolonged exposure to high temperatures during storage and use — Whenever possible, park your EV in the shade or plug in to allow the battery’s thermal management system to operate on grid power.

2. Avoid prolonged exposure to low temperatures — Again, the threat is primarily associated with unplugged parking in extremely cold conditions. If you can connect to a power source, the battery’s thermal management mechanism can keep the battery comfortable. Even when the vehicle is not plugged in, certain EVs automatically use the thermal management system until capacity decreases to 15%, at which point things turn ugly.

3. Minimize time spent at 100% charge — Resist the temptation to plug in all night every night. If daily travel consumes 30% of the battery, using the middle 30% (between 70% and 40%) is healthier for the battery than continuously using the top 30%. At some point, smart chargers will interact with your schedule, anticipating daily driving needs and tailoring the need for charging accordingly.

4. Minimize time spent at 0% state of charge — Battery management systems often turn off an electric vehicle well before it reaches 0%. The larger danger is leaving a vehicle unplugged for an extended period of time, to the point where it self-discharges to zero and remains there indefinitely.

5. Avoid fast charging — Automakers understand that one of the keys to mainstream EV adoption is the ability to charge as quickly as filling a petrol tank, which is why they are hesitant to caution against high-voltage direct current charging. Furthermore, it is entirely suitable for recharging during infrequent lengthy trips or when an unforeseen appointment depletes your targeted 70% overnight charge. Make a point of not allowing it to become a habit.

6. Avoid discharging faster than necessary – Simply keep in mind that each one increments the eventual demise of your vehicle’s battery by a certain degree.

The Lithium-Ion Battery’s Operation

As the name implies, these batteries operate on positively charged lithium ions. These ions are electrostatically attracted to electrons. They cling to several anode molecules (which are often carbon) in a fully charged battery, along with an electron. When energy is extracted from the batteries, the electrons leave to perform their functions, while the lithium ions migrate through a specific separator that permits only these ions to pass. Once on the other side, they cling to cathode molecules (often metal oxides) alongside the electrons that just assisted in spinning a motor, lighting a lamp, or delivering a tweet.

Battery Aging and Degradation Types

The University of Michigan battery research took both calendar and cycle aging into account. Additionally, it focused on two primary types of battery degradation: capacity fade (when the amount of energy stored in amp-hours decreases) and power fade (when the internal resistance of the battery in ohms increases, reducing the rate at which energy can be pushed into or drawn out of the battery). Capacity fade affects the range and fuel consumption of an electric car; power fade affects the vehicle’s driving performance—acceleration, gradeability, and the rate at which it can be recharged via the brakes or a charger.

What Is the Actual Cause of Battery Degradation?

Lithium inventory loss occurs as a result of different processes that remove lithium ions from circulation. When lithium is plated onto the anode as a protective “solid electrolyte interphase” (SEI) layer during the initial charging cycles of a new battery’s life, it always depletes roughly 10% of available lithium. Loss of active material (LAM) occurs naturally as electrodes degrade, resulting in fewer sites for lithium ions to connect. Capacity fade will be influenced by whichever of the above is the worse, but both forms have an additive effect on causing power fade. Mechanical stress occurs when the electrodes undergo “lithiation” and “delithiation,” causing their volume to vary by up to 10%. This swelling and contracting of the SEI can result in “exfoliation” and cracking, which may remove further lithium from circulation when it re-plates.

6 Things EV Batteries Despise

1. High Temperature — Can deteriorate the materials used to bond the carbon or metal oxide materials to the electrodes, melt the separator, dissolve the cathode metals, dissolve the SEI layer, induce oxygen loss from the cathode’s metal oxide, and/or cause the electrolyte to decompose.

2. Low Temperature — Slows the rate of ion diffusion through the separator, primarily.

3. High State of Charge — Can induce corrosion of the aluminum current collector in the cathode, decomposition of the binder material, dissolution of the SEI layer, formation of gases with rising internal mechanical stress, and decomposition of the electrolyte.

4. Low State of Charge — Can corrode and dissolve transition metals in the anode’s copper current collector.

5. High Charging Current — Can retard ion diffusion and aggravate volume changes and mechanical strains caused by charging.

6. High Discharging Current — Exaggerates volume changes and mechanical strains caused by the discharge.

Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese, Graphite, and Silicon are the primary components used in EV batteries. The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is accelerating, with countries such as the United Kingdom and France imposing timelines for the phase-out of gasoline and diesel-powered automobiles. While electric vehicles are the apparent replacement, EV batteries have always been prohibitively expensive and inefficient. Until recently, electric vehicles struggled to drive more than 200 miles on a single charge, and the lengthy charging period makes long travels a nightmare. Now all of that is going to change.

What is the reason for the change? A breakthrough in the materials used in rechargeable electric vehicle batteries will boost their efficiency, enabling longer ranges and shorter charging periods.

The Five Primary Types of EV Batteries

At the moment, all five of the principal battery types used in electric vehicles are lithium-ion (Li-ion)-based:

1. Cobalt Lithium Oxide (LCO)

Although LCO batteries are primarily utilized in portable electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets, they can also be employed in smaller electric vehicles. It is a relatively inert and harmless substance.

The primary disadvantage is that they include considerable amounts of cobalt, an expensive metal with source issues. As a result, it is rarely employed in commercial electric vehicles.

2. Oxide of lithium, nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC)

NMC batteries are perhaps the most often utilized type in EVs. They have stable chemistry and are reasonably inexpensive compounds that include only a trace amount of cobalt. They work admirably, delivering a high energy density and charging more quickly than other batteries.

3. Aluminium-lithium-nickel-cobalt (NCA)

NCA batteries were the first commercial attempt to replace the prohibitively expensive cobalt in Li-ion batteries with nickel. They perform well, create a high amount of energy, and are quite inexpensive to produce. They have been extensively employed in portable devices and electric vehicles, while NMC batteries have supplanted them in recent years.

4. Iron-Lithium Phosphate Lithium-Iron Phosphate (LFP)

The most secure of all are Li-ion batteries, with an extremely stable chemical composition. Additionally, these batteries have a high energy density, which make it excellent for usage in bigger electric vehicles such as vans, buses, and trucks.

5. Manganese Lithium Oxide (LMO)

Due to its reasonable energy performance and inexpensive material cost, LMO batteries were among the first to be employed in early EVs. The disadvantage is that the cells are not as durable as those found in other battery types, resulting in a relatively short life cycle.

This article will examine some of the critical materials utilized to fabricate the various components of the most efficient and cost-effective batteries, such as NMC, and the reasons for their selection.

Electrolyte Substances

The electrolyte is a critical component of any battery, acting as a catalyst to boost conductivity during charging and discharging by assisting in the transport of ions from the cathode to the anode. Electrolytes can be liquid, such as sulphuric acid (H2SO4) or soluble salts, or solid, such as polycarbonate.

At the moment, all EV batteries are liquid-state, but solid-state batteries offer numerous advantages, including reduced size and weight, increased capacity, and lower manufacturing costs. Toyota recently stated its intention to release an electric vehicle using a solid-state battery by 2020.

The majority of EV battery electrolytes are lithium-ion based, which means they use lithium to conduct electricity between electrodes. While the mechanism is similar to that of a mobile phone battery, an EV battery typically uses 10,000 times the amount of lithium. As a result, the price of lithium has risen in lockstep with rising demand.

Materials for the Cathode

Cobalt

Cobalt was the first material to be used in Li-ion battery cathodes and has been utilized extensively in recent years. Due to cobalt’s compact compound molecular structure, it is perfect for maintaining a quick electron flow across the battery.

However, cobalt is becoming increasingly scarce due to abuse in the lithium-ion battery industry, which consumes 55% of world cobalt supplies. It is produced as a byproduct of copper and nickel mining and is extremely difficult to recover. Another issue is that cobalt is not easily recycled, requiring extensive refinement before it can be used again, making them prohibitively expensive.

As the cathode accounts for around 24% of the total cost of a Li-ion battery, less priced alternatives to cobalt have gained popularity in recent years.

Nickel

Due to the increased endurance of nickel, it is required to manufacture EV battery cathodes. Nickel sulfate is utilized in the cathode and can be manufactured using either class 1 (premium) or class 2 nickel. Although class 2 nickel is less expensive as raw material, it must be dissolved and purified before being used in the cathode, which is a costly procedure. As a result, class 1 nickel is the preferred material.

Battery producers are eager to increase their use of nickel since it is significantly less expensive than cobalt. It is frequently used with trace amounts of cobalt to generate more economical cathodes. Thus, between 2018 and 2025, demand for class 1 nickel is predicted to expand at a 30% annual rate, potentially reaching 570 kT, or roughly 10 times the current demand. According to these projections, several recycling companies are showing interest in nickel recycling from old batteries to help satisfy demand.

Manganese

Manganese with high purity and grade is frequently utilized to make the cathodes of NMC batteries. Additionally, it is occasionally utilized in the form of Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD), which is generated by dissolving manganese dioxide (MnO2) in sulphuric acid and passing a current between two electrodes.

Manganese dioxide dissolves in the liquid to form sulfate, which is subsequently deposited on the anode’s surface. The material is extracted and combined with a trace amount of cobalt to form the cathode in lithium-ion batteries.

Materials for Anodes

Graphite

Graphite is the most often utilized material for the anodes of electric vehicle batteries. For an average-sized battery, 25kg of high purity graphite is required, and for large batteries, such as those used in the Tesla Model S, up to 54kg is required.

Manufacturing graphite anodes is a time-consuming and expensive procedure. It entails synthesizing graphite from calcined or cleaned petroleum coke (a by-product of oil refineries), a thin, gravelly substance bonded together with coal tar pitch. To maximize lithium-ion absorption, the anode must be made of high-quality graphite with a highly crystalline structure.

The mixture is then baked to create pure carbon, which has almost negligible conductivity. Following that, a process known as “graphitization” or magnetic induction begins, during which a low-voltage, high-current direct current charge is supplied through the furnace. Finally, wax or resin is added as a moisture barrier to the anode in liquid-state batteries to prevent it from degrading.

Silicon

Silicon as an anode material has a variety of advantages over graphite, including lower material and manufacturing costs. Additionally, it can absorb and contain a far greater amount of lithium ions than graphite when charged. This boosts the battery’s efficiency, allowing EVs to go further on a single charge. Silicon anodes are still in research, but they are expected to be commercially available by 2020.

The Future of Battery Materials for Electric Vehicles

Numerous materials critical to the manufacture of EV batteries are in low supply. In tandem with the growing number of electric vehicles being created, the batteries that power them are undergoing fast innovation. The industry’s aims include developing materials that are inexpensive to produce as well as increasing battery efficiency, durability, and weight reduction.

For instance, silicon and graphene are potential candidates to replace graphite as the anode material of choice. Utilizing these materials will extend the range of cars on a single charge.

A solid-state battery is a rechargeable energy storage unit that is structurally and functionally comparable to the more well-known lithium-ion battery. The two are distinguished by the fact that a lithium-ion battery has a liquid electrolyte, but a solid-state battery, as the name implies, contains a solid electrolyte. This enables solid-state batteries to be lighter, more energy-dense, have a greater range, and recharge more quickly. The issue in commercializing solid-state batteries is to take technology that is already widely utilized in small devices and apply it to large-scale applications such as electric vehicles (EVs).

Which Battery Type Is Used in an Electric Car?

General Motors introduced the EV1 in 1996 as the world’s first mass-produced electric vehicle. The two-seat coupe, which was built from the ground up as an electric vehicle, had a range of 78 miles, accelerated to 50 mph in 6.3 seconds, and required more than 5 hours to fully charge. It was powered by a lead-acid battery.

Three years later, the second-generation EV1 debuted with a nickel-metal hydride battery pack and a roughly doubled driving range of 142 miles.

While the EV1 was being phased out, Tesla Motors joined the automotive industry with the Tesla Roadster, the world’s first mass-market battery-electric vehicle to use lithium-ion batteries. The rest, as they say, is history.

How Do Lithium-Ion Batteries Work?

Lithium-ion batteries have established themselves as the industry standard for powering a wide variety of devices, ranging from consumer electronics such as cellphones and laptops to mobility and transportation such as bicycles and automobiles.

Unlike traditional lead-acid and nickel-metal hydride batteries, lithium-ion batteries use a liquid electrolyte to regulate the energy transfer between the cathode and anode. The advantages of lithium-ion batteries include increased battery life, improved performance in extreme temperatures, recyclable components, and a higher energy density. The energy density of a battery refers to the amount of energy it can store per unit weight. Simply put, the greater the density, the greater the output power.

Despite their numerous advantages, lithium-ion batteries have several disadvantages. Although lighter than prior battery technologies, lithium-ion batteries are nevertheless rather hefty due to their liquid interiors. Additionally, they function better when packaged in stackable packets, which adds additional weight. Moreover, the electrolytes are flammable, can become unstable in severe temperatures, and can result in explosions or fires if damaged or charged improperly. There is no shortage of news accounts ranging from cellphone malfunctions to airplanes catching fire as a result of battery problems.

How Does a Solid-State Battery Work?

Solid-state batteries are more stable and compact by default because they do not contain a sloshing, flammable liquid electrolyte. The solid electrolyte can be made of a variety of common materials, such as ceramics or glass.

For years, solid-state batteries have been utilized in small devices such as pacemakers, RFID tags, and wearable gadgets. With fewer components, fewer things can go wrong. Along with increased safety, compactness, and stability, solid-state batteries in EVs would enable faster charging times, increased travel range, and increased energy density. Solid-state batteries can charge to 80% in 15 minutes and are less prone to strain after numerous charging cycles. After 1,000 cycles, a lithium-ion battery begins to degrade and loses capacity. On the other hand, a solid-state battery will retain 90% of its capacity even after 5,000 cycles.

When Are Solid-State Batteries Going To Be Used in Electric Vehicles?

Despite its numerous advantages, expanding production up to the level required for use in EVs remains an expensive operation. Remember, solid-state batteries are well-known for their use in smartwatches and heart rate regulators.

The development expenses and production problems associated with creating solid-state batteries for mass-market EVs are significant disadvantages. However, just as lithium-ion batteries have become more economical, the hope is that solid-state batteries will follow suit. And automakers are investing heavily in the technology, particularly with the proposed zero-emission brand strategy and EV-only lineups.

BMW and Ford have invested $130 million in Solid Power, a solid-state battery firm based in Colorado. Hyundai is investing $100 million in SolidEnergy Systems, a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In collaboration with Panasonic, Toyota announced the premiere of a prototype SUV powered by solid-state batteries this year. Additionally, General Motors and Volkswagen are investing.

Audi, Bentley, Dodge, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lotus, Mazda, MINI, Nissan, and Volvo have all announced their electrification intentions and zero-emissions goal dates. Some have even gone so far as to declare that gasoline and diesel engines would be phased out of their lineups by 2050.

However, EVs must be profitable for automakers, inexpensive for customers, and capable of completely replacing vehicles equipped with an internal combustion engine (ICE) pound for pound. Even though there are more electric vehicle options than ever before, gasoline-powered vehicles continue to dominate the market. After all, fossil fuels are still inexpensive, vehicle options are many, and refueling takes only a few minutes.

Nonetheless, the appeal of solid-state batteries is self-evident, and their potential may compel manufacturers to maintain their manufacturing commitments. Electric vehicles are already on par with or outperforming their internal combustion engine equivalents in terms of design. One needs to eliminate range anxiety, maintain price parity, and offer compelling performance, then perhaps people will truly embrace an all-EV future.