Auto Recycling World JUN23 / by Scott Robertson / Read original article
Scott Robertson, the owner of Robertson’s Auto Salvage and ex-President of the Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA), discusses the impact of electric vehicles (EVs) on the auto recycling industry. From the end-of-life management of EV batteries to government incentives, Robertson explores the choices auto recyclers face and the opportunities arising from the EV wave.
If any of you are like me, I always stopped and watched MythBusters when channel surfing and was entertained by the two nerdy guys and hot chick; we need to get that cast and do an episode on electric vehicles for our industry. Whether you doubt the existence of climate change, or grid capacity or have range anxiety, electric vehicles are going to be manufactured and sold in great numbers and eventually end up becoming end-of-life vehicles, which will be introduced into our business models in the future.
I’ve been told that the average EV battery will last up to 10 years for use in an automobile as a traction battery. That same battery can be broken down and repurposed in many configurations but is most commonly utilized within energy storage systems for an additional ten years. In the EV battery world, businesses are identified as battery recyclers and synonymous with the shredders in our industry. These companies turn high voltage batteries into a black mass that is then refined into material that can be introduced into manufacturing new high voltage batteries. Our industry has always sold into the market that pays the most; usually, that is reuse, but it could be repurposed or recycled in the high-voltage world.
I’ve recently returned from an EV Battery conference hosted by NAATBatt and interacted with every industry that plays a part in the manufacturing and handling of end-of-life (EOL) high-voltage batteries. Within the Inflation Reduction Act, there are billions of dollars allocated to sustainable “clean” energy industries … and the high-voltage battery industry is getting a great majority of it. There are many flaming hoops to jump through to qualify for this money, and as I write this, the Treasury Department is still trying to figure it out. After the dust settles, one thing will remain certain, the OEMs want their batteries back, and that’s where our industry becomes involved in the high-voltage supply chain. Harvesting end-of-life EV batteries is the missing link not only in the supply chain but in the flaming hoops in obtaining the pot of gold from the US Government for the battery industry.
Most in our industry have had the most profitable two years in their business history due to COVID’s supply disruption, the influx of free money, and inflation in the US Government. It seems like in the last six months, we have experienced a reset in business and returned to the daily grind. What’s the next event to alter our industry? I think it’s the electric vehicles, but there are options on how to approach the incoming wave, of which I believe are three choices.
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