The push to recycle electrical automobile batteries simply gained some momentum. Redwood Materials has unveiled plans to construct an EV battery recycling plant on the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina. The roughly 600-acre facility (previewed in a render above) will break “end-of-life” batteries right down to their uncooked metals and rebuild them because the anodes and cathodes which are essential to EVs. The elements ought to help as much as 1 million EVs per 12 months. That couldn’t solely cut back waste, however cut back the prices and dangers related to importing these parts from abroad.
The plant will reportedly quantity to a $3.5 billion funding that features 1,500 jobs. Like Redwood’s Nevada campus, the Charleston hub will rely solely on clear vitality and all-electric operations. The firm claims its method lowers CO2 emissions for producing the battery parts by about 80 % in comparison with the output from the standard Asian provide chain.
Construction ought to begin for the South Carolina plant within the first quarter of 2023. The first recycling course of ought to be prepared by the tip of that 12 months, Redwood says. The firm plans to scale afterward.
The locale alternative is strategic. Redwood says South Carolina is a part of a rising “Battery Belt” the place EV cell manufacturing will ramp as much as “hundreds” of gigawatt-hours of manufacturing capability by 2030. Its seaside port helps, too. The state additional hosts factories for automobile producers that embody BMW and Redwood associate Volvo, so a model might shortly repurpose spent batteries for automobiles rolling off the road.
More importantly, Redwood seems to have broader help from the auto business. On high of Volvo, it has companions like Ford, Toyota and battery makers that embody Panasonic and Envision AESC. Large-scale battery recycling amenities are nonetheless comparatively uncommon within the US — Li-Cycle’s new Alabama plant can process batteries for about 20,000 EVs per 12 months. This enlargement might make recycling much more commonplace, and make a greater case for electrical vehicles because the environmentally acutely aware choices.
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