What happens to end-of-life EV batteries: Project RECOVAS

This collaborative R&D project was set up to build a new circular supply chain for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the UK, by developing the infrastructure to collect and recycle EVs and their batteries.

One of the repeated myths around EVs is that the batteries cannot be recycled, repaired or reused, and therefore end up in landfill.

It’s not true. Batteries are far too valuable to consider being discarded. Not only can almost all the materials be recycled to make new batteries, they can also often be repaired to go back into a vehicle or given a second life as stationary storage.

As more vehicles become electrified, greater volumes of batteries and battery materials are required, which will eventually reach end of life and be repurposed or recycled. Currently, end-of-life battery packs are shipped outside of the UK for treatment, at significant cost. Not only is this unsustainable, but it exports valuable metals which can be recovered for future use in the UK.

RECOVAS, an £8.75 million project, established pilot-scale EV depollution and battery shredding at EMR (lead project partner) sites, diagnostic and repair infrastructure at Autocraft, second life applications at Connected Energy, LCA at UKBIC, and research at WMG. Automotive OEMs such as JLR are involved to support research work and establish guidelines for repair, reuse, and recycling.

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