The year 2019 brought along a massive increase in the sales of electric vehicles
EVs. EV sales exceeded 2.1 million units globally (Source: IEA Global EV
Outlook 2020) and shows a continued growth pattern into the year 2020. A
typical EV battery weighs about 400 kg and has about 10 kg of lithium in it.
Lithium currently sells for $9/kg on the global commodity market. At present,
basically all the lithium used to make new batteries comes from lithium mines
with Australia and Chile having the largest production volumes. But, in the
future, there exists another important source for lithium and that is recycling.
Redwood Materials is a start-up created by Tesla's cofounder and former chief
technology officer, JB Straubel. While Tesla is known for making batteries, the
focus of Redwood Materials is to recycle these batteries. Since the expected
lifetime for an EV (and its batteries) is about 10 to 15 years, Straubel and his
team estimate that within two decades, many millions of tons of lithium ion
battery materials will reach the end of their useful lives. His vision is to reuse
these battery cells (or at least the materials of the cells, such as the lithium) to
Answer & Explanation
EVs. EV sales exceeded 2.1 million units globally (Source: IEA Global EV
Outlook 2020) and shows a continued growth pattern into the year 2020. A
typical EV battery weighs about 400 kg and has about 10 kg of lithium in it.
Lithium currently sells for $9/kg on the global commodity market. At present,
basically all the lithium used to make new batteries comes from lithium mines
with Australia and Chile having the largest production volumes. But, in the
future, there exists another important source for lithium and that is recycling.
Redwood Materials is a start-up created by Tesla's cofounder and former chief
technology officer, JB Straubel. While Tesla is known for making batteries, the
focus of Redwood Materials is to recycle these batteries. Since the expected
lifetime for an EV (and its batteries) is about 10 to 15 years, Straubel and his
team estimate that within two decades, many millions of tons of lithium ion
battery materials will reach the end of their useful lives. His vision is to reuse
these battery cells (or at least the materials of the cells, such as the lithium) to
Answer & Explanation
