SAN FRANCISCO - Benjamin Reynaga used power tools to hack his way into a beat-up hybrid Honda Fit at an auto dismantling plant at the edge of the Mojave Desert until he reached the most important part of the car: its lithium-ion battery.
Sales of electric cars and trucks are taking off, and the auto and battery industries are investing billions of dollars to upgrade and build factories. These cars could help address climate change, but batteries pose their own problems. Raw materials can be hard to mine, are often found in countries with poor human rights records and require processing that leaves behind noxious waste.
That has left recycling companies in a difficult position. They need to invest in factories, machinery and workers or risk losing ground to competitors. But if they invest too quickly, they could run out of money before lots of aging batteries arrive at their loading docks. Redwood sees itself primarily as a producer of battery materials – made from recovered or mined metals – and has established recycling partnerships with Ford Motor, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo. Redwood also recycles scrap from a battery plant run by Panasonic and Tesla, near Reno, Nevada.
Most anodes and cathodes come from China, but Redwood hopes to change that. At the Nevada facility, the company is making thin anode foil using recycled copper. Redwood also plans to make cathode materials there using recycled cobalt and a mix of recycled and mined lithium and nickel. Panasonic recently said that it planned to use Redwood’s products in its batteries at two US factories.Redwood regularly receives used batteries and scrap from suppliers like LKQ and partners like Panasonic.
Li-Cycle breaks down batteries and manufacturing scrap to form a granular substance known as black mass, which can be processed into component metals. PHOTO: NYTIMES “We were fortunate that we took the path that we did, when we did,” Kochhar said. “This is an industry that does require, just like battery making, a good amount of capital.”Battery recycling is still relatively new in North America, but more mature companies abroad could provide a hint of what’s to come. In China, for example, there are many recyclers but a shortage of material.
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