Tesla Starts Battery Recycling And Swap Program
Currently, Tesla Vehicles are rather young, the oldest vehicles the company has produced are only about a decade old, these being the original Tesla Roadster and 2012 Tesla Model S. Now that some of the vehicles are approaching the end of their useful life due to batteries losing efficiency over time, the Californian car company has been shifting its attention to the recycling of its battery packs.
Recycling is nothing new to Tesla
In the impact report released last year, Tesla made some comments about their plans for disposing of batteries in a more eco-friendly manner:
“At Gigafactory 1, Tesla is developing a unique battery recycling system that will process both battery manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries. Through this system, the recovery of critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt will be maximized along with the recovery of all metals used in the battery cell, such as copper, aluminum and steel. All of these materials will be recovered in forms optimized for new battery material production.”
New Battery Recycling And Battery Swap
It is unclear how far exactly Tesla has come along with this hinted process, but it was revealed today that Tesla has started recycling batteries in China. A few days ago, Tesla China's official website showed information about the battery recycling program. It describes that the materials used in Tesla lithium-ion batteries can be recycled, in addition to making the most of battery life and avoiding environmental pollution. Tesla owners who participate in battery recycling can also replace new batteries at Tesla service centers to return the vehicle to a new state, Elon Musk had already hinted at this battery swap out system. It is said that Tesla will recycle 100% of its batteries, and be able to either reuse or sell the materials for quite a good price since demand is higher than ever.
The Model Y is also an upcoming product of Giga Shanghai
Recycling in China
China is the biggest lithium-ion battery recycler in the world, recycling around 70% of the batteries available for reprocessing.
With Giga Shanghai phase two so close to completion we could eventually see a big part of the battery processing plant being installed there.
Recycling is a major step towards sustainability for Tesla, within the coming decade EV adoption will become more and more common, requiring adequate recycling facilities to process the demand for this service. This will help to reduce pollution throughout the world and enable EV companies to reuse the materials that had previously lost their capabilities.We may also hear more info about what Tesla has in mind for recycling at the September battery day event.
Where else do you think battery recycling plants for Tesla could be built? Will there be one in each upcoming Gigafactory or will recycling mainly happen in China since that is where most of the expert companies are based? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Here is the source of this article, thank you to @Ray4Tesla for helping us find this.
Also see how CATL's battery issues pressure Tesla ahead of the Battery Day event.
Guillaume Humbert a Torque News automotive journalist covering Tesla news. "The way he first heard about Tesla was when he accidentally found a livestream of one of Tesla's cars back in 2018. It may sound boring, except this car was cruising in space. Since then Humbert has been following the EV automaker closely. Any of Tesla's innovations make the future look environmentally more friendly. "I am now trying to share the hope Tesla spread and inspire others through my articles," says Humbert whom you can follow on Twitter at Thinking Enthusiast.
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