Batteries from cell phones, laptops and power tools, left unchecked in a landfill, will leach a number of chemicals into the ground, including lithium, cobalt, copper and nickel. They can also combust, which is why lithium-ion batteries must be transported in a plane’s passenger compartment instead of with the unmonitored cargo.
One electric vehicle (EV) contains the equivalent of about 6,000 laptop batteries, and those materials aren’t just harmful to put back into the planet, they’re also harmful to extract, which is why the recycling of EV battery packs is so critical.
Battery recycling also happens to be big business, because with the latest updates to the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), automakers get double the tax credit for using EV batteries either made in the U.S. or recycled in the U.S.
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