When electric car batteries reach the end of their working life, they are recycled. EV batteries will slowly lose capacity over time, with current EVs averaging around 2% of range loss per year. Over many years, the driving range may be noticeably reduced. EV batteries can be serviced and individual cells inside the battery can be replaced if they go bad. But there’s the risk after many years of service and several hundred thousand miles that the entire battery pack may need to be replaced if it has degraded too much.

Recycling the batteries is important because if they end up in a landfill, their cells can release problematic toxins, including heavy metals. Recycling typically involves separating out valuable materials such as cobalt and lithium. The valuable metals inside the batteries, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum, can be used to make new batteries.

Once removed from a car, most batteries will still be fit for other demanding jobs like energy storage in the electricity network, or in the home. For example, Nissan is using old Leaf batteries to power mobile machines in its factories around the world. VW recently announced a pilot plant for battery recycling which will work towards a target of recycling 97% of battery components.