Battery Industry Group to handle end-of-life EV batteries

The Battery Industry Group (BIG) launched by Vector on November 28 incorporates more than 80 businesses joining forces to tackle end-of-life issues for lithium-ion batteries.

The cross-industry collaboration will design reuse and recycling solutions for large batteries, usually found in electric vehicles or in stationary energy storage.

Vector has also released a vision and context for the group provided by the New Energy Futures Paper: Batteries and the Circular Economy

at an event attended by associate environment minister Eugenie Sage. The paper is accompanied by a Technical Addendum, in which Vector shares all research and data gathered to-date.

BIG is described by international sustainability charity Forum for the Future as a ‘lightning rod’ for New Zealand’s public and private sector.

The group aims to propose a ‘circular’ product stewardship scheme for end-of-use and end-of-life battery management to the Ministry for the Environment within the next year.

This will include recommendations on consistent safety guidance for the handling, storage and shipping of used large batteries.

The group has a core delivery team of Vector, Eunomia Research & Consulting and WasteMINZ, with funding from Vector, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and the Motor Industry Association of New Zealand.

The move acknowledges the important role businesses can play in not only front-footing the e-waste challenge, but also acting as a catalyst to accelerate New Zealand’s transition to a low-emission circular economy, Vector says.

“Vector recognises that electrification of transport presents a significant opportunity to help New Zealand achieve a zero-carbon future,” Vector Group chief executive officer Simon Mackenzie says.

“The research in the New Energy Futures Paper tells us that there will be between 500 and 1000 EV batteries coming to the end of their lives by 2020, potentially rising to 17,000 by 2025 and a staggering 84,000 by 2030,” he says.

“While batteries are key to powering our new energy future, they contain valuable materials that come at an environmental and social cost.

“It’s clear that we must work collaboratively with others to ensure we have a proactive, robust plan in place to make the most of battery capacity, as well as mitigating any risks from their disposal. This initiative will produce the circular blueprint we need to achieve this.”

EECA chief executive Andrew Caseley notes that once lithium-ion batteries are no longer fit for purpose in vehicles, they still have capacity in other applications, such as stationary storage for homes or industry.

“There is concern about battery afterlife, and this is a proactive initiative to address that.”

The New Energy Futures Paper

is the culmination of research commissioned by Vector from Eunomia with the Batteries Leaders Group in 2018.

That group now forms the basis of the wider BIG and its three working groups; the Safety & Logistics Group, the Battery Innovation Hub, and the Battery User Group.

Interested parties are welcome to join.

Visit here, or Twitter @batteryloop #batterykarma for more details.