1. Myth: China controls all the battery raw materials

Reality:
While China dominates battery refining and cell production, it does not control most of the raw material mining. For example:

• Cobalt: Over 70% mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but China refines most of it.
• Lithium: Mined primarily in Australia, Chile, and Argentina, but much is shipped to China for processing.
• Nickel & Manganese: Largely mined in Indonesia, Australia, Russia, and South Africa.

The myth stems from China's dominance in midstream processing, not upstream extraction.

2. Question: Will we run out of lithium and other key minerals?

Reality:
Geologically, there is enough lithium, cobalt, and nickel to meet projected demand for decades. The concern is not about scarcity, but about:

• Scaling up mining and refining fast enough. Once lithium has been discovered and permits and approvals are in place, it can take between 4 -7 years to build and ramp up a lithium mine. However, there are many cases, especially in the US, where this takes a lot longer. 
• Doing it sustainably and ethically
• Improving recycling to reduce dependence on virgin materials. RMI estimated that we will hit peak virgin material usage in the early 2030s, but countries with robust recycling, such as China, may reach “mineral independence” by the 2040s. 

Innovation in battery chemistries (like LFP batteries that use no cobalt or nickel, but easier to find phosphate and iron) also alleviates pressure on supply. 

3. Myth: EV batteries are unethical because of child labor

Reality:
The use of child labor in cobalt mining in the DRC has been well documented and is a serious issue. However:

• Most automakers and battery companies now have traceability and ethical sourcing standards that are built to comply with rules in the EU.
• Battery chemistries are shifting to reduce or eliminate cobalt altogether (e.g., LFP, NMC 811).
• The option, combustion engine vehicles, rely on oil, which has its own well-documented negative effects on children and the entire planet. 

Child labor and humans rights violations are very valid concerns, but not representative of the entire industry.

4. Question: Are battery supply chains worse for the environment than oil?

Reality:
While battery mining and manufacturing have an environmental impact, lifecycle analyses consistently show that:

• EVs produce far less lifetime emissions than internal combustion vehicles, even accounting for mining.
• Mining impact is a one-time cost, whereas gasoline/diesel emissions are ongoing.
• Cleaner energy for manufacturing and battery recycling can further reduce the footprint.

Oil extraction, refining, and combustion are ongoing, high-emissions processes with their own environmental toll.

5. Myth: EV batteries are not recyclable and will create a waste crisis

Reality:
EV batteries are highly recyclable, and the industry is rapidly building capacity to process end-of-life packs.

• Companies like Redwood Materials, Li-Cycle, and Ascend Elements are recovering up to 95%+ of materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
• Recycling reduces reliance on mining and will become more important as the first wave of EVs reaches retirement.
• Recycled batteries have been shown to be more resilient and more energy dense than the original batteries.

The infrastructure isn’t fully mature yet, but it's scaling fast in the U.S., EU, and Asia.

6. Question: Are battery supply chains more vulnerable than oil supply chains?

Reality:
Battery supply chains are complex and globally distributed, which creates some vulnerability — but they are less geopolitically fragile than oil:

• EV battery minerals can be stockpiled, recycled, and diversified.
• Oil is a just-in-time commodity subject to price shocks, wars, and OPEC decisions.
• EV battery supply chains are becoming regionalized — especially with IRA-driven U.S. domestic investments. 

Over time, supply chain resilience improves, while oil dependency stays brittle.

7. Myth: EVs just shift pollution from tailpipes to power plants and mines

Reality:
This claim ignores the total lifecycle emissions:

• Even on a coal-heavy grid, EVs still produce fewer emissions than gasoline cars over their lifetime.
• As grids get cleaner, EVs get cleaner over time — unlike combustion vehicles, which lock in emissions.
• EV battery production emissions are a one-time upfront cost; tailpipe emissions are continuous in gas cars.

Also, many EVs are already being powered by solar, wind, or low-carbon grids.

‍

Now that we’ve gotten some big questions out of the way, let’s start at the beginning. What does it take to create an Li-ion battery?

‍

‍

What is in a lithium-ion battery?

A lithium-ion (aka Li-ion) battery consists of two nodes:  an anode (negative) and cathode (positive), separated by materials that help electrons flow between the nodes. The anode is typically graphite, but the cathode can be various lithiated metal oxides. Because the active material in the cathode is the distinguishing factor between different types of batteries, the different chemistries are used to name the battery types. Common chemistries in electric vehicles include NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) and LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate). 

What is a critical mineral?

Of the minerals used in batteries, six of them (graphite, aluminum, nickel, manganese, cobalt, and lithium) are listed on the USGS Critical Minerals list, which was updated in 2022 to inform recent climate and energy legislation. A critical mineral is one that is deemed essential “to the U.S. economy and national security.“ 

There is a focus on developing a domestic supply of such minerals to reduce reliance on countries which may be uncooperative or hostile to the US. A domestic supply will also be less affected by logistics and supply disruptions due to climate change or international conflicts. While critical minerals come from around the globe, most of them are currently processed and refined in China. 

‍

How is lithium mined?

There are two main techniques for mining lithium: 

Metallic brine mining pumps water with dissolved lithium from underground reservoirs. The brine is stored in above-ground ponds where evaporation further concentrates the lithium, producing lithium carbonate. Lithium carbonate is then commonly converted to lithium hydroxide, which is used to make cathodes and electrolytes.

Brine mining is common in arid locations, such as in the Lithium Triangle and the Silver Peak Mine in Nevada. However, it faces scrutiny due to its reliance on large quantities of water, since water itself can be quite supply restricted in these locations. 

Hard rock mining uses a mineral called spodumene, which is collected and processed to create lithium hydroxide directly. This method is becoming more popular in North America, due to the abundance of spodumene ore (like in the picture below)

How bad is mining and processing battery materials?

When it comes to a lifecycle assessment on an electric vehicle, making the battery is the worst part. It’s resource intensive - including a lot of water and energy - and can have environmental and humanitarian impacts at mining sites. 

Mining and processing of battery materials has earned a reputation for being particularly problematic due to several interconnected environmental, social, and health issues:

Water Consumption and Pollution: Massive quantities of fresh water, classified as a precious resource in arid regions, are diverted for lithium mining operations. Additionally, mineral mining, similar to other industrial mining efforts, often produces pollution that leaches into neighbouring rivers and water sources.

Carbon Emissions: The carbon footprint is substantial - every tonne of mined lithium results in 15 tonnes of CO2 emissions in the environment. 

Air Quality and Health: Dust from pulverised rock is known to cause breathing problems for local communities as well. Cobalt, lithium, manganese, and nickel are four of the metals most used in the construction of LIBs, and each has known toxicological risks associated with exposure. Mining for these metals poses potential human health risks via occupational and environmental exposures.

Child Labor in Cobalt Mining: The most troubling aspect involves cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where children routinely work in mines, often under hazardous conditions. More than half of the world's supply of cobalt comes from the DRC. 

These harms have led to increased focus on supply chain transparency, alternative battery chemistries, and recycling initiatives.

What happens to old EV batteries?

The Current State of Things

First, it's worth noting that as of yet, this is no abundance of old, used EV batteries. As Nissan exec Nic Thomas told Forbes, “Almost all of the [electric car] batteries we’ve ever made are still in cars.” The automotive industry expects batteries to outlast the cars they are put in.

Before Recycling, There’s Reuse

EV batteries are material-intensive and potentially hazardous at their end-of-life (EoL) if not handled and processed with care. Repurposing and recycling batteries can reduce environmental and social impacts of battery production from virgin materials and provide a source of raw materials. Over the short term, recycled materials only represent a small portion of total battery demand, but studies have indicated the potential to supply over 50% of cobalt with recycled material.

When it comes to applications such as in cars, the end of a battery’s life is when it hits 70-80% of its original capacity. For a 100 kWh battery, this means a “dead” battery will still have 70-80 kWh of usable capacity remaining, or roughly enough energy to power the average American home for two+ days. This dead battery is still very useful for non-motorized applications.

One of the most promising uses for old lithium batteries is large-scale battery storage systems that can capture renewable energy when the sun is out or the wind is blowing. When storage systems are built of old batteries, they reduce the net environmental impact of each battery and help green the grid for new EVs.

Other companies are working to prove that used batteries can be useful in large scale scenarios such as shoring up the US electricity grid, which has felt pressure in the past few years due to rising electricity demand during events such as heat waves. Batteries can be used to supply stored energy when demand peaks, supplementing traditional energy plants and delaying investments in new ones until clean energy can fill the void. In Japan, Nissan is repurposing old batteries as backup power for train signals and to power street lights with solar energy generated during the day. Another project in France uses old EV batteries to power a data center. 

Unfortunately, all the uses above do not stop the slow march of battery degradation. Eventually, the lithium ion battery will no longer be useful. At this point, it is time to recycle it.

Battery Recycling‍

Did you know that the creamy inside of a KitKat is made up of other, crushed KitKats? Soon, lithium ion batteries may be made up of old lithium batteries, too! Battery recycling is already taking off, especially as the price of lithium and other metals rise in anticipation of a booming battery market.  

As you’d suspect, the value of a recycled EV battery is determined by the value of individual components. Recyclers won’t see much value in a component that costs more to recycle than to buy new. The lithium and graphite components are the least valuable parts of a lithium-ion battery, but they also the biggest percent. Cathode metals like cobalt and nickel are highly priced but usually few and far in-between. 

Recyclers utilize three major recycling processes: 

• hydrometallurgical, 
• pyrometallurgical, and 
• direct.

Importantly, the cost and environmental impact of recycling is a function of where recycling occurs, which includes the specific location of recycling and mode of transportation, an aspect that has historically been overlooked in lithium-ion battery EoL cost estimates. 

For instance, recycling in the US has been found to result in less pollution than recycling in China due to shorter transportation distances and a less fuel intensive electricity grid. Unfortunately, recycling costs, which include transportation, collection, disassembly, and actual recycling, are much cheaper in China given the lower cost of labor and equipment costs. Incentivizing recycling in the US, where the process is cleaner, is important. 

Pyrometallurgy

Pyrometallurgy is the more common method of battery recycling and bears similarities to the extraction method originally used in creating the metals. Linda Gaines of DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory explains that pyrometallurgy is,

 “essentially treating the battery as if it were an ore.” 

The cells are shredded and then burnt, leaving charred rubbles of plastic, metals, and glues, after which several extraction methods can be used to remove the metals. 

Some major downsides of this method include the energy-intensive burning as well as safety concerns about burning toxic substances. Recyclers need to be certain of each battery’s composition and its active components to safeguard against health threats. 

Hydrometallurgy

Hydrometallurgy entails dissolving the battery in a pool of acid. The valuable components can be extracted from the layered pool of metals and plastics. While it’s less likely to lead to violent explosions than pyro, the toxic chemicals used can pose serious health risks. 

Overall, hydrometallurgy is a lot more efficient in extracting metals compared to incineration. Researchers are working on solvents that can dissolve some battery components while leaving the valuable metals in their solid state, making it easier to recover them. Some recyclers also combine both hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy, since many factories are already set up for pyro. 

Direct Recycling

Direct recycling is a mostly untested technique that has great mass appeal. It keeps the cathodes intact, making it much easier to reprocess them into new products. Linda Gaines explains, 

"In direct recycling, workers would first vacuum away the electrolyte and shred battery cells. Then, they would remove binders with heat or solvents, and use a flotation technique to separate anode and cathode materials. At this point, the cathode material resembles baby powder." 

Researchers are still trying to make the technique viable at scale.

Although direct recycling would make it much easier to recycle batteries, it still requires recyclers to know exactly what the components of each battery are. Also, the economic viability of direct recycling depends on the value of the cathode metals. With lower prices cathode materials, battery recycling may be slow to catch on.

Regulatory Requirements for Scale 

Lead acid battery recycling is considered a major success story in the US, and it can be used as a case study for how to increase lithium battery recycling. Today, 99% of all lead acid batteries are recycled, and that is due to governmental regulation and subsequent design choices by manufacturers. First, it became illegal to have lead acid batteries in landfills. Then, knowing that their products would need to be recycled, battery manufacturers began standardizing the design and components of their batteries, so that recycling would be easier and more streamlined. Finally, lead acid battery recycling became profitable. 

The standardization of lead acid battery design was a big step that allowed the recycling industry to scale. With lithium ion battery recycling, the major concern is safety and health risks, especially when dealing with high voltage. If all manufacturers were to agree to a common design, labeling, and binding materials, processes and factories can be designed to be more efficient and streamlined.

Recycling in the EU

In the EU, legislation is underfoot to jumpstart lithium-ion battery recycling. First off, battery manufacturers and OEMs are now responsible for handling battery EoL in a way that meets strict environmental and health standards. Since recycling is now their problem, manufacturers are sure to design batteries to make it easy. 

Secondly, starting in the next ten years, new lithium-ion batteries must have a minimum amount of recycled components, meeting a recycled content standard (RCS). RCSs mandate a percent of constituent material in a product to be from recycled sources, which can increase recycling rates by creating a market for the reclaimed material. This step will regulate the reuse of battery material, create a market for the recycled materials, and help ensure recycling can be profitable.

Recycling in the US

The US has implemented this type of recycled content standard for the newsprint, plastic, and glass industries (Aunan and Martin, 1994), but has not passed or proposed RCSs for lithium-ion batteries. In September 2022, California passed Bill No. 2440, requiring battery producers to create or fund programs for collecting and recycling most batteries sold within California, beginning no later than April 1, 2027.

Safety Initiatives

Although large scale lithium ion battery recycling poses health hazards, they can be contained when recycling is approached with the correct knowledge. ”Education and accessibility are two of the most effective tools to ensure safety, especially as batteries grow in physical size,” says Leo Raudys, CEO of Call2Recycle - a platform that matches EV owners with recyclers - during an interview.

“As we know, Li-ion batteries can cause dangerous fires if not handled properly, endangering waste workers, residential communities, and entire recycling facilities. Continuing to streamline guidance on collecting, transporting, and recycling these batteries for both consumers and producers will help decrease safety risks."

The ultimate challenge is creating a unified recycling ecosystem that gives everyone easy access to safe, viable recycling options. Collaboration in the space is growing by the day between governments, manufacturers, recyclers, and everyone in between, but the US lags behind other markets in terms of government regulation. As investments continue to pour into the space, we're witnessing a steady rise in the levels of education, accessibility, innovation, and efficiency. The EV space is still relatively underdeveloped, but with planning, the recycling industry can meet the needs of the future.