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Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries

tech.supercarblondie.com

51–60 of 208 posts

Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries

#51
post #27

according 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?

Sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide, sodium carbonate. Not catalysts but reagents. Most currently come from fossil fuel feedstock but that isn't essential.

Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries

#52
post #11

Earlier 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…

If you live in Tokyo or Osaka you really shouldn’t own a car

If you live in New York City or San Francisco, you really shouldn't own a car.

Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries

#53
post #4

Can this be replaced with the original NHK World article?

I can’t seem to find it on NHK World at all apart from in a video from April? Is this old news? The linked article is also very sensationalized.

Edit: linked article is also from April.

Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries

#54
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

that way is 100% non-renewable, the important questions are the total long term costs

Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries

#56
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

Fun, somewhat related, fact. For a long time (not sure about now), the high-voltage connectors in Tesla were made by (but not labeled) Yazaki. Made in Japan.

But the QC tests to Yazaki's deisred level didn't exist yet, and Tesla did their own tests. And Tesla was maximizing it's "Made in the US" stance, which either goes by weight or components.

So Yazaki was secretly making unlabeled high-voltage connectors in Japan, selling them to Tesla, who could then test them themselves and claim falsely the source of production.

Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries

#57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy

TIL 'The White House' isn't a sentient building

Would make for a nice sci-fi, and explain a lot. Not only is it sentient, it's telepathic and malicious!

Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries

#58
The article seems to be very unspecific about what it is this company does that is so different. It also steps over the fact that there are already quite a few companies active in the US, EU, and China that are recycling batteries. Nor is the cited percentage that remarkable. That's ballpark what competitors are achieving as well. Probably a bit more. 10% lithium is a lot of lithium to not recover. Most natural deposits of lithium have very low concentrations of it.

The main thing actually holding back the recycling industry is the lack of batteries that need recycling, not the lack of technology needed to recycle them. Most of the batteries produced in the last ten years are still being used. And quite a few might head for a second life in storage for another decade or so. It's probably going to be another decade before recycling hits a scale where it becomes a significant and lucrative source of valuable raw materials.

And as others mentioned, it's not just about recycling the lithium in batteries. It's not like cobalt, nickel, copper, graphite, etc. end up on the trash heap.

Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries

#59

What about the cost? In China, most used batteries are just burned and buried, so the recycling cost is very low.

whataboutism and fake news

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61481-y

https://interestingengineering.com/energy/china-recovery-mat...

Re: Japan develops a method to recover up to 90% of lithium from used EV batteries

#60
post #29
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In your opinion/experience, why is it that they aren't switching?

I have a theory: Japanese car's have excellent reliability, their interiors and design are lacking. If every car in the world is an EV, which due to their relative simplicity tend to be reliable, what remaining unique selling points does eg a toyota have?

I'd still prefer a more reliable EV to a less reliable one. Not too many good options for a EV minivan in the US (I'll never buy a Chrysler product, and I don't really want a VW).
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