ELECTRIC VEHICLES
EV batteries:
driving improvements
Sven Brehler, Engineering Project Manager at
TR Fastenings, discusses the need to ensure
sustainability in the design of electric vehicle
batteries – one of the biggest challenges facing
the sector.
As the new 70-plate
cars roll off garage
forecourts across the
UK, 2020 is predicted to be
another record-breaking year
for electric vehicles in this
country.
A report by Statista
published in May forecast that
electric vehicles will make
up more than 10% of new UK
vehicle registrations this year
– up from just 3.2% of vehicles
in 2016.
It is vital now that all
of us involved in the EV
industry work collaboratively
to help the sector grow in a
sustainable way.
As electric vehicles become
more popular, the number
of EV batteries coming to
the end of their usefulness
on the road will soar. But
whereas traditional leadbased
car batteries are
commonly recycled in the UK
– so much so that the majority
of a new lead-based battery is
recycled material – that is not
the case for EV batteries.
RECYCLING WASTE
Last year a joint study
published by researchers from
the University of Birmingham,
the University of Newcastle
and the University of
Leicester concluded
that the rise in
popularity of EVs had
not been matched
by a solution to
the problem of
recycling the end
of life waste of
their components.
The researchers
argued that there
was an opportunity
for the UK to be at
the forefront of a
new sector in the
recycling industry
to meet that challenge –
potentially not only handling
UK EV waste but also
profiting by importing and
recycling EV waste from
abroad.
In Japan, Nissan opened a
factory for the refurbishment
of used EV batteries for
repurposing in electric cars
as well as vehicles requiring
less power, such as forklifts
and golf buggies, and in
street lights. Likewise, Toyota
has linked units to solar
panels to provide power to
shops in Japan.
The Faraday Institution
- the UK’s independent
institute for electrochemical
energy storage research -
has suggested that recycled
material could be a key input
for the eight Gigafactories it
forecasts the UK will need
by 2040 to meet domestic
demand for lithium ion
batteries.
Securing the raw materials
these factories will need,
could be a mammoth task
in the face of a global rise
in demand, and the fact the
mines producing the minerals
needed aren’t exactly on
20 Issue 4 2020