Automotive Engineering - September 2023 - 26

Honda taps recycling firms
FOR FUTURE EV BATTERIES
Recycling and reusing
battery materials is a top
priority for Honda as the
vehicle maker targets 100%
of its global automotive
sales being electrified
vehicles by 2040.
by Kami Buchholz
A Cirba Solutions team member
disassembles an EV battery to prepare
for extraction of the critical minerals
contained in the battery.
H
onda says this is the year when sustainability solutions for its
future EV business establish a firm foothold. " This includes
beginning to build up an infrastructure for EV battery recycling
and reuse in preparation for the eventual end-of-life for
[electrified] vehicles and their batteries, " Phil Cozad, North American
lithium-ion battery recycling leader for Honda Development &
Manufacturing America LLC, told SAE Media.
Earlier this year, Honda inked agreements with two battery recycling
companies, Cirba Solutions and Ascend Elements. " These
agreements with battery recycling companies are well-timed, as the
Honda electrification strategy we announced two years ago is now
well underway, starting with accelerating our sales of hybrid-electric
vehicles as we work toward our transition to 100% electrified BEVs
and FCEVs by 2040, " Cozad explained.
By 2050, Honda intends to reach carbon neutrality with its corporate
activities and all products. " Achieving that will require unprecedented
change in nearly everything that we do, including how we
source materials, how we build and sell new products, and how we
recycle or reuse every bit of the materials from our end-of-life vehicles, "
Cozad asserted.
The mining and refining of first-use raw materials requires a significant
amount of energy. Mineral extraction also emits a massive
amount of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. " That's why our
plan is to reprocess end-of-life vehicles back to raw materials, then
reuse those materials in the creation of new products, " Cozad explained.
Another benefit from the recycling and reuse approach is
reduced market volatility for finite materials.
Andreas Breiter, partner at the global management consulting firm
McKinsey & Co., noted that using recycled battery materials for EV
batteries equates to an approximately 25% lower carbon-emissions
26 September 2023
battery cell footprint versus using virgin battery raw
materials. " This is a result of reduced carbon emissions
in the raw material mining and refining stage where
the battery recycling of raw materials cause about
three to four times lower emissions compared to using
new battery raw materials that require extraction and
processing of lower-grade materials, " said Breiter.
Turning old batteries into new batteries
An EV battery pack contains a multitude of materials.
" From the outer steel shell to the internal wiring and even
the battery-management system, the materials are recyclable.
The battery chemistry will determine what critical
metals are able to be extracted, but nickel, cobalt, lithium,
and manganese are typical examples, " David Klanecky,
President and CEO of Cirba Solutions, told SAE Media.
Cirba Solutions' processes can work with all battery
chemistries, including lead, alkaline, nickel-cadmium,
nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion. " We also process
some lesser-known chemistries that are used in military
applications, " Klanecky said. All types of battery
formats (such as prismatic, pouch and cylindrical) and
battery-pack sizes (including passenger EVs and commercial
vehicles) also are handled by the Charlotte,
North Carolina-headquartered company that formed
from the 2022 merger of Heritage Battery Recycling,
Retriev Technologies and Battery Solutions.
Recycled materials may or may not need additional
processing. " If the output from a processed battery is
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
CIRBA SOLUTIONS
Automotive Engineering - September 2023

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