Engine, hood, wheels, headlights, mirrors or doors. All of them are part of the vehicles and European regulations suggest that 95% of cars must be recycled. More than 4,000 pieces that mix plastic, textile fibers, iron, steel, aluminum, oils, fuels. To which now we must add others such as graphite or lithium. These last ‘ingredients’ are essential in the batteries of the new electric cars, “at the moment they are not a big problem, but they could be in the future because everything will be electrified”, answers José María Cancer Abóitiz, CEO of Cesvimap.
Last year, in Spain, a total of 36,452 electric vehicles were registered, a figure higher than that of 2021. But, yes, the percentage of electrified cars barely reaches 1% and plug-in hybrids and pure ones represent 0, 5% and 0.4% of the total respectively. “It is expected that the accumulation of batteries from electric cars will exceed 3.4 million packages by 2025,” the data from Recyclia and Recyberica Ambiental point out.
Early research suggests that up to 70% of the materials contained in these batteries “can be recycled,” says Cancer. Currently there are two techniques for recovery: hydrometallurgy and pyrolysis. In the first one, through immersion in a certain type of liquid that corrodes elements such as steel or aluminum, but that “allows us to recover, for example, lithium”, highlights the CEO of Cesvimap. In the case of the second technique, the materials burn and aluminum or copper does not oxidize, but “graphite does burn,” he warns. “At the moment, there is no process that makes it possible to recover 100% of the components that are in these batteries,” he adds. “Now, reuse is more useful.”
“Better reuse”
In general, almost all car manufacturers guarantee the batteries of their electric cars for at least eight years or 100,000 kilometers. “When the performance falls below 80%, the driver should consider replacement,” say the manufacturers. But this “does not mean that they cannot be used,” says Carcer. “They can have a second life of luxury,” he warns.
«In 75% of electric car accidents, the battery can be reused»
Jose Maria Cancer Abóitiz
CEO of Cesvimap
Since 2020, at their headquarters in Ávila, they have sought to give them a golden retirement. “It is a real aberration to lose all the technology and materials that have been invested in a battery,” says Cancer. In recent years, “total losses have arrived at his facilities and we have tried to recover the batteries of electric cars,” he comments.
First of all, they look at whether they can be installed in another car, because “in 75% of accidents, the battery can be reused,” he says. “Now we are working on how if you cannot move a car, it can serve as energy storage at home”, explains the CEO of Cesvimap. “We have tested it and it is useful.”
However, “it’s kind of residual right now,” Cancer says. At its facilities, in 2022, 73 batteries arrived, “that is 26% of all electric vehicle casualties in Spain”, but it does not cover the entire offer. “Doing, it can be done,” he emphasizes.
The technology is available, but the costs for its recovery and reuse are not optimal because “they have to go through a decontamination and repair process to be reused,” explains Cancer. “In addition, we could talk about luxury batteries because they are prepared to withstand extreme temperatures and strong impacts.”
Portable batteries for the city
Although until reaching the roofs of the houses, the batteries of electric cars have found an intermediate step that those responsible for Cesvimap have baptized as “battery pack”.
The modular structure of vehicle batteries allows the construction of small portable devices that can be used to solve specific problems. “These devices usually have 48 modules and with only two you already build energy storage,” explains Cancer. His pilot project served to energize his audiovisual equipment. “Now, we can give a range of about 10 kilometers to an electric car that runs out of power in a city.”
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