Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling

Lexus pushes the envelope with the luxury EV market as the automaker produces more new vehicles with all-electric power sources and zero emissions. We’re proud to provide luxury EVs for sale to people in Vancouver. What happens to old electric car batteries when they can’t hold a charge like they used to? EV batteries will wear out over time just like the ones in your remote control or smartphone. 

When our staff empties old motor oil from an engine or changes old tires, our service technicians can’t just throw these items in the trash. Similarly, we can’t do the same thing with EV battery disposal. The metals in the batteries and the liquid used to transmit electricity can contaminate groundwater, so we have to keep it out of landfills. The current solution for EV battery disposal comes from a process that breaks down the metal found in EV batteries so it can be reused and repurposed.

Discover all of the details regarding electric car battery recycling from the team at Lexus of Portland near Beaverton. Then, you’ll know what happens to old electric car batteries.

How Long Do EV Batteries Last?

All automakers must offer an EV battery warranty of eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first, per the federal government. Every electric vehicle’s battery has a shelf life, just like every battery. They’re considered inefficient when they drop to 70 to 75% of full capacity, which can happen in 15 to 20 years. But again, the operational life of batteries depends on several factors.

What Happens to Old Electric Car Batteries at Lexus of Portland?

When it’s time for EV battery disposal, our service center near Hillsboro switches the old hybrid or EV battery for a new one in your car or SUV. After that, we securely and safely ship the battery to a specialized electric car battery recycling center designed to take care of these old batteries while keeping their metals and liquids out of landfills. 

EV batteries have copper, steel, and aluminum in their shells and wires. These metals usually go to smelters where they are melted down and repurposed into other metal parts. Inside the tough outer shell are the battery cells themselves. They need more extensive processes to recycle them properly. The cells contain rarer metals like lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel. After they are extracted correctly, these metals go to EV battery plants to go into new batteries all over again.

Even better, EV battery disposal reduces manufacturing costs and reliance on new materials from mines. Ideally, it lowers the amount of pollution needed to ship these metals to battery plants.

Why Do We Need Electric Car Battery Recycling?

Some metals, like cobalt and manganese, are expensive to mine and harder to obtain than others like copper, aluminum, and steel. Recycling these rarer metals can alleviate supply chain issues that could occur through geopolitical or economic forces. Electric car battery recycling can give battery manufacturers a more reliable supply of metals to maintain their standards and high-level engineering.

Automakers plan to expand production of EVs in the late 2020s and early 2030s. Responsible EV battery disposal should help automakers meet demand for many years to come.

How Else Can We Achieve Electric Car Battery Recycling?

When it’s time for EV battery disposal, even at 70% of capacity these batteries can still store 20 to 90 kWh of power in their cells. That’s still a substantial amount. Specialized companies can convert EV batteries into packs that can store electricity by stringing multiple EV batteries together. These batteries can store and provide power for homes for many hours, such as when the power goes out or when eco-friendly power sources are unavailable. Home storage batteries, repurposed from EV battery disposal, could have cells that last up to 10 years!

Shop for New Luxury EVs for Sale in Portland

Take the next steps to enter the luxury segment and put a new vehicle in your Hillsboro garage! Contact us or call (503) 536-2389 to schedule a test drive. We’re happy to help in any way we can!