Where is my mined?… Ford partnered with battery recycler Redwood Materials to recycle EV batteries from its e-cars, like the Mustang Mach-E. Redwood, started by an ex-Tesla exec, is a Nevada-based “urban mining” startup. It extracts valuable metals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt from old cell-phones, appliances, and car batteries. One EV battery = 166 iPhones worth of cobalt. How it works:
What’s yours is mine(d)… For a price. The metals in EV batteries and smartphones are already pricey because they’re globally sourced: Your iPhone could contain Congolese cobalt or Bolivian tin. But prices are spiking even higher. Lithium prices have doubled since November. Battery recycling is booming since it reduces production and transit costs:
Supply circles are the new supply chains… Because one car’s trash is another car’s treasure. Other EV-makers are also trying to “close the loop” of their supply chains by recycling their own batteries: Tesla recycles its e-batteries, and GM partners with battery recycler Li-Cycle. It’s not just EVs, either: Next time you recycle your cell-phone or laptop at Best Buy, it could end up with Redwood.