Electric cars make it possible to drastically cut pollution levels while in motion. To this now (almost) established truth, many detractors of plug-in vehicles respond that their components are anything but eco-friendly. Starting with the main one — the battery — which is said to be polluting to produce and essentially impossible to recycle entirely. The debate, alive for several years now, "flares up above all when discussing the environmental impact of lithium batteries, a now extremely precious mineral whose extraction has become a billion-dollar business exposed to many potential abuses." Roberto Sposini, editor-in-chief of LifeGate, is one of Italy's foremost experts on the subject; a coordinator and moderator of academies, talks, webinars and themed events at institutions, bodies and companies, he has directed major national publications and is the author of the book "Neomateriali nell'economia circolare. Automotive".

With reference to lithium, he explains, "extraction activities are costly, polluting and often carried out in the Global South, where the living and working conditions of miners are still very difficult and poorly protected. All true." But a far from irrelevant detail is frequently omitted: "In recent years batteries have undergone significant evolution, both technologically and in terms of the materials used."

Lithium-ion and solid-state batteries: what are the differences?

Lithium-ion, solid-state, iodine, magnesium. When it comes to technologies applied to battery production, it is important to bring clarity to a constantly evolving landscape. Certainly lithium-ion batteries already have a valid alternative in solid-state batteries. What are the differences? "Simplifying," Sposini answers, "we could say that, while in the first case a liquid electrolyte is used to transport ions between the anode and cathode, solid-state batteries use a solid electrolyte, which offers greater safety and energy density. And that's not all. Solid-state batteries reduce the risk of fires and improve thermal stability."

In any case, the automotive industry is also exploring other directions, such as sodium and magnesium batteries: "In the first case the advantage is economic, while the current limitation is low energy density, which is better suited to static storage applications than to cars; in the case of magnesium batteries, on the other hand, energy density is higher than lithium batteries, with numerous advantages." In short, storing more energy in a smaller volume means lighter electric cars, with greater range and faster charging times. Another possible solution is represented by lithium-air batteries, composed of a metallic negative electrode and a positive electrode that uses oxygen present in the atmosphere as its active material. In any case, "the short-term objective remains to reduce battery costs by at least 20 per cent." All of this while awaiting a potential new arrival: the atomic battery developed by a Chinese company; based on nuclear energy and capable of powering a device for nearly 50 years, built with a nickel-63 isotope and a diamond semiconductor material, it is currently destined for sectors such as aerospace, artificial intelligence and drones — though it's not impossible that it could one day power an electric car as well.

But let us return to the current state of things. When it comes to lithium-ion batteries, the most commonly used materials are lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and graphite. "Each of these elements," Sposini underlines, "plays a fundamental role: lithium for the electrolyte and cathode, cobalt, nickel and manganese in the cathode to improve capacity and stability. Then there is graphite, commonly used for the anode." In this context, the industry "is focusing research on less costly and more readily available alternatives, such as the combinations iron-lithium phosphate (LFP) and nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC). In particular, the greatest progress is being made in the development of lithium-iron-phosphate batteries." This is because they function similarly to lithium-ion batteries — that is, they are equipped with an anode and cathode, a separator and an electrolyte, and they operate by exploiting the movement of lithium ions between the two electrodes during the various charge and discharge cycles. But "what changes are the materials used for the various components, which are less expensive and easier to source. A novel chemistry, therefore, which could see its first applications in the automotive industry as early as 2026, initially alongside traditional batteries with nickel-cobalt-manganese chemistry."

Some figures…

• The recycling rate could increase to 50 per cent by 2030, thanks to the implementation of more advanced recycling facilities and incentivising policies. (Circular Energy Storage research)

• The Critical Raw Materials Act establishes that by 2030, 25 per cent of annual consumption of critical raw materials must be met through domestic recycling. (European Parliament)

• The battery reuse market could reach a value of 45 billion dollars by 2030. (Bloomberg NEF)

Critical materials between supply and geopolitics

The issue remains that some of these materials are concentrated in just a few countries worldwide. This makes the question of supply — from a future perspective — fundamental. Sposini explains that in this case "the issue is above all political in nature. Or rather, geopolitical. As things stand, China controls over 60 per cent of rare earth extraction and over 80 per cent of their processing." Figures that best illustrate how, today, the supply of critical materials — starting with lithium and cobalt — is a crucial issue for the future of batteries. The concentration of these resources in just a few countries — beyond China, there are Chile, Australia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — raises "serious questions linked to geopolitical risks, as well as to the sustainability of the various processes involved."

And things are not set to improve in the short term: according to the International Energy Agency, demand for lithium could increase fortyfold by 2040. The solution? For Sposini, it is "diversifying supply sources and investing in recycling technologies. For this reason, and given the environmental concerns and the risks linked to possible trade blockades between superpowers, it is easy to understand why recycling and reusing the resources used in batteries has become increasingly important."

Recycling: current prospects and future outlook

The issue of recycling must be addressed immediately, but above all with an eye to the future. According to Sposini, "when it comes to electric cars, the debate often focuses on the question of the quantity of metals (the so-called raw materials) that make up batteries, and on whether that quantity is sufficient to meet growing demand." Less often, in fact, do people ask what happens to those materials afterwards, once their 'first life' is over. But the truth is that "within the space of a few years, the automotive world has changed radically. Any hesitancy towards the technological shifts that will allow the sector to complete its ecological transition journey seems to have disappeared." By now, recycling and recovering components and materials is not limited to batteries alone, but extends to tyres, mineral oils and many other components: "Today, the green transformation trend touches every aspect of this fundamental sector of the global economy, while research is also being guided by the push of increasingly ambitious policies."

If "electric" is now the keyword when it comes to innovation, business models and attention to the circularity of production processes are also changing. Strategies that once seemed immutable are being reinvented, the spaces and impacts of mobility are being redesigned, right down to the very relationship between humans and vehicles — a field that, more than most, is reaping the rewards of advances in artificial intelligence systems. The transformation underway is truly complex and not fully understood by everyone. Specifically, when it comes to batteries, "the trend, rather than recycling the entire cathode component — which degrades over time — is progressively moving towards upcycling processes that recover metals and reintroduce them into the supply chain.

Read the full version of the chapter at this link.