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Mining lithium is cheaper than recycling

• epistasis 5y ago
  Really? Where are the numbers for that assertion?
  • selectodude 5y ago
    The part where we mine lithium instead of recycle it is a good indicator.
    • epistasis 5y ago
      Only if there were waste streams of lithium of comparable scale, which there are not. We are enormously expanding our use of lithium, and the biggest problem for the places that are currently trying to recycle lithium batteries is that there aren't enough of them to recycle. A big source of their current batteries are just the defects from the current manufacturing process.
  • Red_Leaves_Flyy 5y ago
    Right now it's a fact that does not need numbers to prove. Hopefully by 2030 there will be a robust network of recycling facilities around the world, for the majority of exhausted lithium batteries. https://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/batteries-storage/lithiumion-battery-recycling-finally-takes-off-in-north-america-and-europe https://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/batteries-storage/lithiumio...