Urban mining is key
Cars, batteries, and particularly electric vehicle batteries are full of important resources that we need to recover and reuse.
Precious metals such as lithium, copper, cobalt and graphite are all finite – that is, we can’t just create more when we need them. They need to be mined from the earth or urban mined from things we have already used.
With the growth in the uptake of electric vehicles in Australia moving to around 26 percent by 2030, it’s clear we need to shift our battery recycling rates from around three percent to big double digits, even up to 80 percent.
That’s all batteries, including those in cars, torches, computers, and almost every household appliance that blips when you turn it on.
Metals recovered from electric vehicle batteries, including lithium, can go back into new batteries, which underpins one of the key purchasing decisions for EV drivers.
For the automotive industry, this is about having a national plan for end-of-life vehicles that includes the full recovery of EV batteries.
Given we are at a new beginning with electric power trains – we had a good go back in 1910 – it’s an ideal time for government to hatch a master plan that manages the recycling of critical metals in batteries, which would make buying an EV a truly green pursuit.
How about a battery deposit scheme for all new EVs that helps offset the cost of recovering these precious metals? That’s an idea worth pursuing.
Share your thoughts! E: ceo@vacc.com.au. As featured in the Herald Sun 17 September 2021.