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<p>The Government has not made an estimate of the number of electric vehicle batteries
in the UK that will need to be recycled in the future. However, the Government’s Road
to Zero Strategy, published last year, set out the ambition that by 2030 50%-70% of
new cars sold and up to 40% of new vans sold are ultra low emission and that by 2040
those percentages rise to 100%. Presently, cars and vans have an average lifespan
of around 14 years before they become end-of-life vehicles, and figures published
by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that in 2018 there were new
car registrations of 2,367,147 units and for light commercial vehicles 357,325 units.
Of these, 141,234 units were for plug-in and hybrid vehicles.</p><p> </p><p>Second
life applications are being explored for batteries which are no longer able to perform
as required in electric vehicles. An example is in energy storage solutions, which
will delay the point at which the battery has to be recycled.</p><p> </p><p>Electric
car batteries are classified as industrial batteries and covered under the Waste Batteries
and Accumulators Regulations 2009. This bans the disposal to landfill of such batteries
and their incineration. It also establishes take-back and recycling obligations for
industrial battery producers.</p><p> </p><p>The UK’s £246 million Faraday Battery
Challenge is playing a leading role in promoting the reuse and recycling of battery
components. One of the eight technical challenges set is to be able to recycle 95%
of an electric vehicle battery pack by 2035.</p><p> </p><p>A number of live projects
are exploring this area including a £10 million Faraday Institution research project.
This is developing the technological, economic and policy framework that would allow
high percentages of the materials in lithium-ion batteries at the end of their first
life to be reused or recycled. In addition, several collaborative research and development
projects are looking at reusing, remanufacturing or recycling end-of-life, automotive
lithium-ion batteries.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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