Looming electric car problem leaving Australia exposed: ‘We’ve got six years’

Now’s the time to set up the frameworks and “really get it right” when it comes to electric car battery recycling, an industry expert has warned — before it’s “too late” and we’re left behind.

Recycling authorities say Australia must “act now” and “use what’s happening overseas” to guide us before in a few years’ time we’re left with mountains of used EV batteries and no way to safely dispose of them locally.

It’s extremely important the devices are recycled appropriately and efficiently, mainly due to their fire risk, Association for the Battery Recycling Industry chief executive Katharine Hole told Yahoo News Australia. She said existing systems in the country are still in their early stages and not yet developed enough to support the entire EV network.

Australia could be left with mountains of discarded EV batteries

With lifespans varying between manufacturer, but hovering around the 10-year mark, soon cars bought within the last five years will require their batteries changed. This means that if no action is taken now, in approximately six years we’ll be left with mountains of the discarded devices.

Hole said although “there are a couple of companies” that recycle them currently, “there’s not many coming through” and “we must ramp up our efforts a lot” to cater to the growing EV uptake.

“If you think about the volumes of EVs that have been hitting the market in the last couple of years, those batteries will come to the end of life soon, maybe not quite six years, but we’ll really just see things ramping up at that point in time,” she told Yahoo.

“The work needs to happen now. There’ll be large volumes of EV batteries coming through. And we’ll need more capacity than we’ve got now to manage that, and more of a coordinated framework.

“You don’t want those batteries to be put into landfill. Other than the obvious fire risk, there’s a whole host of environmental impacts, including chemicals leaking into the ground.”

Hole said “everyone has a part to play” when it comes to ensuring batteries are adequately recycled, including both manufacturers and governments. “The original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), a number of them are now working directly with recyclists or reuse companies,” she said, adding that “reuse” is “kind of like repairing”.

“Overseas they have more formal frameworks, for things like tracking and tracing those batteries. For reporting on battery numbers, how many are coming back through for recycling, being really clear about who’s responsible for them, particularly when they fall out of warranty.”

Hole explained all new electric cars in the European Union will from 2027 be required to be sold with a “battery passport”, providing information about where the materials used to make the power pack come from. The unique system won’t be adopted in Australia just yet, but Hole said it has value.

“If you want to sell materials into Europe, right as recycled content, or you want to sell materials into other countries that have recycled content requirements, you need to be able to meet their requirements,” she said.

Recycled EV batteries could be repurposed in many ways

EV expert and Professor of Future Urban Mobility, Hussein Dia, agreed with the idea of ​​reusing batteries. “When an electric car battery is no longer adequate for use in an EV, it could still have sufficient capacity to be used in other areas such as for street lighting or even various household purposes — in such cases it may not need to be recycled altogether ” he told Yahoo News Australia.

“The government also committed to undertake research to look into EV and other large format battery recycling, reuse and stewardship initiative,” Dia said. He believes it will be important to establish the end market demands for the materials to be recycled from these batteries, which could help to develop emerging Australian industries and grow jobs.

“Such initiatives need to be accelerated if we want to reap the full benefits of EVs,” he said. They are not only important to improve how we use the recycled EV components, they also help build public confidence by considering the whole EV lifecycle from production through to disposal.”

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