A rapidly electrifying planet is driving voracious demand for critical minerals, straining supply chains China dominates because it processes and exports 90 percent of some key materials needed for lithium-ion batteries.
There are numerous strategies to domestically source these key materials, including more mining, increased tariffs on Chinese batteries, and incentivizing refining.
But part of the solution may already be at hand, literally, in the 21 connected digital devices in the average American home—everything from iPhones, laptops, and smart TVs to thermostats and electric toothbrushes.
“E-waste is the world’s fastest-growing waste steam. The good news is, lithium-ion batteries are infinitely recyclable,” Redwood Materials vice president for government relations and strategic partnerships Alexis Georgeson told state lawmakers during a conference.
The problem is there’s not enough infrastructure in place to reuse these minerals or extract them. Many people don’t know their old digital device batteries have value.
The Biden administration has earmarked more than $6 billion in tax credits and inducements to incentivize processing including battery recycling. The Department of Energy (DOE) offers grant programs with pay shares for state and local governments that commit millions for smart manufacturing and battery recycling.
Among other efforts to spur domestic battery manufacturing, the administration has increased tariffs on Chinese-made lithium batteries from 7 percent to 25 percent. Georgeson said DOE’s grant programs provide opportunities for states to further incentivize battery recycling but lawmakers across the country are not aggressively capitalizing on these opportunities or adopting laws to promote it.
Unlike recycling for plastics and paper which has proven largely unprofitable, recycling lithium batteries retains value unlike other types of batteries that power traditional vehicles where once they’re used they’re gone forever. Between 95-98% of critical minerals in lithium batteries can be recovered so we can get them back into components creating a local circular supply chain.