New battery recycling tech promises true circular economy for EVs

As demand for electric vehicles (EVs) grows, so do concerns over limited supply of the rare earth metals used in their batteries. Shortages of lithium, cobalt and nickel already threaten to hamper battery production. If something isn’t done to address this, it could hold back EV uptake.

Solvay believes it may have a solution. The company is developing a new method of recycling batteries in a way that extracts the metals at such high quality that they can be reused in future batteries. Solvay’s Mike Finelli, President, Group Growth Initiatives, and Chief North America Officer, believes that this process could significantly reduce the stress on battery supply chains when faced with shortages of rare earth metals and at the same time create a circular economy, reducing the need to mine for virgin materials.