Preparation for EVS vital

IN the run-up to the election on May 6 there has been a variety of pledges on the environment and climate change.

However, one pressing problem nobody has mentioned is what happens to an electric vehicle’s (EVS) battery in 10-15 years’ time when they have worn out.

There will be no new petrol or diesel cars sold after 2030, and EVS are expected to become cheaper and take their place. By then the current EVS’ batteries will begin to fail, probably around 2030 onwards.

In 2030 the EU anticipates 30 million EVS driving on EU roads and, according to Fleet News, an estimated 6.5 million EVS on British roads. At some point all their batteries will need replacing.

One problem with EV batteries is they are made up of several hundred individual lithium-ion cells, all of which need dismantling.

Lithium is the third element of the periodic table and bonds easily with carbon and reacts vigorously with water. It is very hazardous as it has a tendency to explode if EV batteries are disassembled incorrectly.

Currently, only around 5% of an EV battery is recyclable and all parts of the battery must be disposed of correctly.

Much of the substance of an EV battery is reduced during the recycling process to a black mass, a

mixture of lithium, manganese, cobalt and nickel, but these need further energy-intensive processing to recover materials in a usable form. It will require a whole new industry and legislation for their safe disposal.

The problem is, I don’t hear, or see, politicians talking about the nittygritty aspects of moving to electric vehicles apart from setting a date.

The problem of end-oflife battery disposal is crucial and will hit us soon, yet it is not on the agenda, like providing more EV charging points, or the problem of thousands of people charging their EV batteries at the same time.