President Joe Biden’s focus on curbing climate change and preparing the country to be a leader in the supply and use of electric vehicles (EV) has caused him to consider bolstering the domestic recycling of batteries.
This includes the reuse of lithium and other metals.
"When you look at the way the U.S. has approached the recycling opportunity, what's very evident is we need to invest in that capacity. We need to take a more proactive approach," an administration official said, according to Reuters. "A big part of the lithium opportunity is really recycling, and being a global leader in recycling the lithium from existing batteries and driving that into these new batteries."
The Democratic party is advocating, by 2030, to have the majority of cars manufactured in the U.S. be electric vehicles.
A Reuters report says that Biden plans to build electric vehicles using mines in ally countries. But instead of focusing on permitting more U.S. mines, the administration is more driven to create jobs that process minerals domestically into EV battery parts. The federal government is looking at the possibility of seeing more recycling plants in the country.
The EV reform would result in approximately 8 million tons of battery scrap being dumped in landfills by 2040, without recycling, according to federal government estimates.
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