We all want a clean city free form contaminated air right? but have you thought what will happen to electric car batteries once they are worn out? Lithium-ion batteries age with at most 5 years. EVs run on lithium-ion batteries. These types of batteries can be found in everything from digital cameras to smartphones to remote control toys. Making them is an intensive process that involves mining rare earth metals and transporting them for long distances, which can take a huge toll on the environment.
What will happen after an EV dies might be a puzzle since we all know and EV is powered by a battery? This should not be a problem because the batteries can be recycled and be turned into money The economic benefits of recycling batteries are less apparent than the environmental benefits of recycling batteries. The economic benefits improve, of course, depending on the volatility of the price of the metals used by the specific battery chemistry.
Cobalt, for example, is quite volatile and was extremely expensive in recent years. The ability to recycle cobalt helps countries and companies reduce their reliance on it, which may have geopolitical and humanitarian benefits as well. In cases where recycling automotive batteries are not economically defensible but environmental benefits, regulators could step in and implement a deposit system to fund or encourage electric vehicle battery recycling.
