Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Electric cars: What will happen to all the dead batteries?
More electric cars are replacing conventional fossil fuel vehicles, which are believed to be better for the environment. They are indeed carbon neutral while they are driven on the road. But at the end of their vehicle lifetime, there will be parts and materials that need to be reused, recycles, or dumped. For conventional vehicles, there already are established systems and businesses to take care of unused vehicles at least in developed countries. But there is something in electric vehicles that cannot fit the existing recycle or reuse systems, the lithium-ion batteries, which contain hazardous materials and require careful handling to disassemble. While some of the materials used in the lithium-ion batteries like lithium, manganese, cobalt, and nickel, are reusable, it requires energy-intensive processing to recover them from the battery. So, the industry and society are facing new challenges to make electric cars cleaner and safer after their lifetime. But new challenges are also the chance for innovation and new businesses. Fortunately, there is still some time before millions of electric cars will end their lives on the road. After all, electric cars are for the environment.
Enjoy reading the article and learn about the other side of the clean vehicle.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56574779
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