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Inventions for battery reuse and recycling increase seven-fold in last decade

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Re: Inventions for battery reuse and recycling increase seven-fold in last decade

#41
post #36
post #28

Disclaimer: I'm one of the founder. We're designing a cool repairable (and fireproof!) connected ebike battery at https://infinite-battery.com If you're an e-bike geek, let's talk!

How do you deal with voltage balance when replacing one bad cell out of a whole battery? My understanding is that lithium ion battery cells need to be close to each other in voltage or else they suddenly rebalance when reconnected, and can burst into flames.

> How do you deal with voltage balance when replacing one bad cell out of a whole battery?

Their BMS handles this. Read their reviews a minor complaint is that it takes 24-36hr to fully rebalance all the cells.

Re: Inventions for battery reuse and recycling increase seven-fold in last decade

#42
post #17

I recently read an article about a company that develops technology for re-using worn-out EV batteries for grid storage. After all, your EV battery with 70% capacity would be useful for many years somewhere in the desert with thousands of other similar batteries, as large-scale grid storage. The technology was great, the business model was sound, grid operators were very interested, everything was fine, except… the s…

Redwood Materials is a major battery recycling company, probably the one mentioned.[1] They have a few moderate sized facilities using old EV batteries for grid storage, but their main business is extracting lithium from old batteries. They have a Battery Bin, placed at retail locations, where people can deposit old batteries, phones, and laptops. It has a fire suppression system.

Like steel, this industry will probably settle down to where most of the materials are recycled. Over half of steel in the US is recycled, and Nucor, which is a steel recycler, is the US's biggest steel producer. Much of what's not recycled is lost as rebar inside concrete.

[1] https://www.redwoodmaterials.com

Re: Inventions for battery reuse and recycling increase seven-fold in last decade

#43
post #40
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The myths are insane, you will see them on here all the time. Evs are so heavy, wear through tires, good luck when you need to replace the battery. The resources to build it are bad for the environment. It’s exhausting. It’s like those folks that complain about tax rates for the top brackets and they are making 60k.

"The resources to build it are bad for the environment." Have you recently checked on how oil is produced? And batteries from abundant materials are avaiable, lithium is just still cheap. But yes, exhausting.

You missed that I was listing off myths.

Re: Inventions for battery reuse and recycling increase seven-fold in last decade

#44
post #43
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The resources to build it are bad for the environment." Have you recently checked on how oil is produced? And batteries from abundant materials are avaiable, lithium is just still cheap. But yes, exhausting.

You missed that I was listing off myths.

Indeed.

Re: Inventions for battery reuse and recycling increase seven-fold in last decade

#45
post #36
post #28

Disclaimer: I'm one of the founder. We're designing a cool repairable (and fireproof!) connected ebike battery at https://infinite-battery.com If you're an e-bike geek, let's talk!

How do you deal with voltage balance when replacing one bad cell out of a whole battery? My understanding is that lithium ion battery cells need to be close to each other in voltage or else they suddenly rebalance when reconnected, and can burst into flames.

Hey! Thanks for your question :)

If you have just a slight imbalance it's taken care of by the BMS, as it continuously monitor and rebalances cells. That said, if you had used the battery for a while, and you need to change just one cell, you can't put a brand new one, it must be matched.

That's why we would recommend changing all cells. But the good thing is that changing all the cells in the battery will cost you perhaps $50 with our repairable battery. Compare that with $250-$500 with "classical models" where you need to buy a brand new battery

Re: Inventions for battery reuse and recycling increase seven-fold in last decade

#49
post #17

I recently read an article about a company that develops technology for re-using worn-out EV batteries for grid storage. After all, your EV battery with 70% capacity would be useful for many years somewhere in the desert with thousands of other similar batteries, as large-scale grid storage. The technology was great, the business model was sound, grid operators were very interested, everything was fine, except… the s…

It's well-understood in the Tesla owner's community that the battery is going to outlast the rest of the car. I think a lot of the "batteries go bad" beliefs started when hybrids first came out, and then it just got stuck in the public doxa.
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