Automotive Engineering - March 2023 - BET21

formance characteristics we need. " And
preparing used batteries for reuse involves
more than simply plugging them
in, said UCS. " To be used as stationary
storage, used batteries must undergo
several processes [including testing, full
discharge, and reconfiguration] that are
currently costly and time-intensive, " the
company's report said.
Another challenge is
that a robust
reuse industry will need a reliable supply
of end-of-life batteries. " Most of the
batteries are still in the cars, " said GM's
Grewe. " Our first-generation Volts typically
have more than 100,000 miles on
them and are still going strong, " he said.
" There's not currently a high volume of
batteries in the secondary stream. "
VW's Rufo said that it's possible that
second-life battery reuse - proposed before
recycling was a viable option - will
never get traction. " It may turn out to be
better to put the material back into cathode
production, " he said. " But there's a lot
of uncertainty, and we're still very early in
this process. "
The reuse and recycling of EV batteries
is indeed still embryonic, but it is gaining
momentum, via research and considerable
investment.
Ramping Up Domestic
Supplies
The race is on to develop U.S. domestic
supplies of the metals that go into
EV batteries. Currently, three companies
are working in California's Salton Sea to
develop lithium as a byproduct of the
existing geothermal production there. At
one time the industry jettisoned lithium
as a waste product but, with international
prices for the metal soaring and
automakers asking for less-problematic
sourcing, the resource is under intensive
development. Most EV batteries use
lithium from water-intensive processes
in dry regions of South America, so
California's supply could be far more
environmentally friendly.
The three companies are Controlled
Thermal Resources (CTR, with backing
from GM and a purchase agreement from
Stellantis), Berkshire Hathaway Energy
Renewables, and EnergySource Minerals.
None currently are producing commercial
amounts of lithium, but EnergySource
and CTR plan to be operational and
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
COMBINED LITHIUM CELL
RECYCLING PLANT All-in-one
Product Innovation
Processing of different cell shapes
and cell chemistries
Continuous Recycling Operation
Capacity of up to 24 tons/day
Innovative Technology
Robust and efficient Pyrolysis Kiln -
fully developed technology
Efficient removal of binders,
organics and fluorine sources
Regeneration of commercially available
recycled materials of the highest quality
delivering lithium hydroxide as early as
2024. EnergySource is based at an existing
geothermal operation and is permitted
to begin producing lithium. In its first
stage, CTR is building a new 49-megawatt
baseload geothermal plant with
lithium production of 25,000 tons annually;
stage two will add an additional
130 megawatts of power and 50,000 tons
of lithium by 2025. BHE Renewables is
planning for 2026.
" We are working in lock-step with the
auto industry to incorporate the entire
battery supply chain onsite, " said Rod
Colwell, CEO of CTR, which has offices in
California and Australia. " Announcing a
new Gigafactory is one thing, but securing
the raw materials and developing the
entire battery eco-system to support it is
just as critical. "
Eric Spomer, President and CEO of
EnergySource, said the company's process
" works with almost any kind of
brine anywhere, " and recovers up to 90
percent of the available lithium - as
compared to just 45 percent via South
American evaporation. The company has
four pilot plants, three in the U.S. and
one in Argentina. " We haven't announced
our offtake partners yet, but we have
them, " Spomer said. " Lithium is not an
uncommon element, but the trick is
to decarbonize production and mitigate
impact while remaining economically
competitive with other extraction approaches.
We think this is a robust and
attractive project. "
This article was written by Veteran
Journalist Jim Motavalli, a regular contributor
to The New York Times, Barron's,
MediaVillage, and Wharton School reports,
focusing on sustainable trends
in mobility and business. He is the
author of two books on green mobility,
Forward and Drive High Voltage.
For more information,
visit www.
mobilityengineeringtech.com. 
www.riedhammer.de
A company of
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Automotive Engineering - March 2023

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