So long or short Lithium?
Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries
41–50 of 208 posts
Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries
#42Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries
#43What about the cost? In China, most used batteries are just burned and buried, so the recycling cost is very low.
Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Every Tesla made in America contains 500 kilos of Japan's finest batteries. Honda may hate the EV but Panasonic does not.
> Japan's finest batteries Aren’t all Teslas made in the US supplied with American made batteries? In partnership with Panasonic, for the Model 3, but still a Tesla factory in Nevada. And I think 4680s are all Tesla made, correct?
No, they are all 100% made by Panasonic, with Panasonic technology, in buildings that Panasonic master-leases from Tesla. The only thing Tesla has contributed is the shell and the sign outside. Panasonic developed the 4680 form factor at Tesla's request, by the way that program has been a major failure.
Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries
#45It really should not be surprising that we can get very high recovery percentages from batteries -- we do not mine elemental lithium, so the processes we use for extraction are already designed to extract lithium from fairly low-purity sources. In contrast, lithium batteries are an incredibly high-purity source of lithium. The main question is when it will become cost-effective to create recycling pipelines. Lead aci…
U.S. lead acid baterries recycling has been outsourced.
" As the United States tightened regulations on lead processing to protect Americans over the past three decades, finding domestic lead became a challenge. So the auto industry looked overseas to supplement its supply. In doing so, car and battery manufacturers pushed the health consequences of lead recycling onto countries where enforcement is lax, testing is rare and workers are desperate for jobs. "
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/20/world/americas/car-batter...
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/11/18/world/africa/...
Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries
#46Scientists found a way to extract up to 90% of oxygen from air! They call it “breathing”.
> Scientists found a way to extract up to 90% of oxygen from air! They call it “breathing”
No, they don't and no, they wouldn't. "Inhaled air [at sea level] contains 21% O2 while exhaled breath contains approximately 16% O2 and 5% CO2" [1]. 24% recovery.
Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Japan's finest batteries Aren’t all Teslas made in the US supplied with American made batteries? In partnership with Panasonic, for the Model 3, but still a Tesla factory in Nevada. And I think 4680s are all Tesla made, correct?
No, they are all 100% made by Panasonic, with Panasonic technology, in buildings that Panasonic master-leases from Tesla. The only thing Tesla has contributed is the shell and the sign outside. Panasonic developed the 4680 form factor at Tesla's request, by the way that program has been a major failure.
> No, they are all 100% made by Panasonic, with Panasonic technology, in buildings that Panasonic master-leases from Tesla
Gigafactory Nevada is jointly operated by Tesla and Panasonic [1]. That's in America. (No clue on the master lease bit. Would be curious for your source.)
[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/panaso...
Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries
#48according to https://x.com/Mith_/status/2041911606213537971 > The industry standard for the recovery of lithium (remember there is a difference between recovery and extraction) is 90%, with some platforms now achieving 95%+ like those that use carbonation.
What is the standard non-renewable resource used for the recovery process? What materials are used up as catalysts to convert it back?
more importantly what is the cost versus getting it the non recyclable way
Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used to follow it closely and be in the industry, but it still seems like Japan is gonna be the last "mostly ICE cars" of the developed countries. Which is a shame, because it has a perfect combination of short-range needs (I mean, look at kei-cars), tons of wonderful places to hang out while charging (toll-way rest areas are so good), rare sub-freezing temperatures in most of the country, mandatory vehicle inspect…
In your opinion/experience, why is it that they aren't switching?
Probably a mix between oil-ties and the fact that decisions in Japan are made slowly.
Edit: I also think there's a fear of this: wide acceptance of EVs open the door to BYD (or similar) huge takeover of the car market.
Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Japanese automakers are excessively risk adverse. Last big risk by Toyota was their hybrid synergy drive, which they coasted on for too long. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Synergy_Drive https://autos.yahoo.com/ev-and-future-tech/articles/toyota-p... https://www.motor1.com/news/798173/toyota-chairman-reveals-w...
Which seems strange since Toyota are the origins of JiT manufacturing. I wonder what made Japan go through a period of incredible innovation and then just decide "ok, that's enough".
Japan still has not fully recovered from the asset price bubble's collapse beginning in 1990.