The electric vehicle industry is working to lessen the negative impact of everything from mining to recycling towards developing more sustainable batteries.
The European Union last December made a series of proposals that cover manufacturing, design, labeling, collection and recycling throughout every battery’s life cycle.
Beginning on July 1, 2024, only rechargeable industrial and electric vehicle batteries for which carbon footprint declarations have been established will be allowed to go to market in the EU.
Parts makers are also having to find ways to cope with tightening environmental regulations.
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Electric vehicles are considered crucial if humanity is to reduce the amount of pollution it emits, but producing lithium-ion batteries for EVs generates carbon emissions. Mining lithium, cobalt and other raw materials is energy-intensive and environmentally destructive. The mining of cobalt is particularly problematic as it is often tied to child labor and human rights abuses.
Recycling and reusing EV batteries is expected to hasten the shift to electric vehicles.