What are second life batteries used for?
![Second life batteries](/content/dam/global/detail-page/second-life-battery/sc/desk-sc-secondo-life-battery.jpg)
What is the process of recycling batteries?
When an EV battery reaches the end of its “first life”, there are three options for its “second”:
- Repurposing, wherein several suitable packs are selected and combined based on residual state, capacity, et cetera, is one option.
- Refurbishment of packs is a second viable option. Essentially packs are disassembled and then single cells are reconditioned and repacked in new modules.
- Recycling, which involves extracting the valuable metals in the battery and re-using them.
Repurposed and refurbished packs can then be used in stationary applications which promote affordability, energy efficiency, environmental-friendliness, and sustainability.
The process of recycling a “second life battery” involves extracting the valuable materials from used EV batteries: lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese. Given that demand for EVs is expected to see double-digit growth over the current decade, the need for lithium and cobalt is expected to increase eighty- and fifty-fold respectively by 2030.
![Innovation and Sustainability](/content/dam/global/storie-page/service-card-stories/desk-sv-inn-sust.jpg)
What are the main benefits of battery recycling and reuse?
Second life batteries have clear environmental benefits in both the extraction and disposal stages.
These include:
- A reduction in mineral extraction and an increase in resource conservation, thereby preventing the further depletion of the Earth’s minerals and avoiding energy- and emission-intensive material processing
- A reduction of waste being dumped in the environment
- The reuse of materials after they have been recycled.
![Electrification](/content/dam/global/detail-page/electrification/sc/desk-sc-electrification.jpg)