Armando Cavanha’s Post

Best practices for EV battery recycling include ensuring that batteries are processed in a way that maximizes material recovery while minimizing environmental impact. This involves using advanced technology to efficiently separate and recover valuable materials like cobalt, nickel, and lithium. Additionally, adopting sustainable practices, such as ensuring nothing goes to landfill and using electric energy for operations, is crucial. For example, in your role at Pedestrian Corporation, focusing on partnerships that prioritize these recycling practices could enhance sustainability efforts.

"EVs already have a much smaller environmental footprint than internal combustion cars, even in countries that still get most of their electricity from coal. While the toll of mining the raw materials for batteries is considerable, more than 95% of the key minerals can be profitably recycled. At Redwood, nothing goes to landfill, and no water leaves the facility except the sanitary waste from sinks and toilets. There are no gas lines; everything is electric. It’s also built for scale, allowing the company to quickly break down a truckload of assorted batteries without manual sorting or tedious disassembly." "Copper foil production has never existed in the US. For the last year, Redwood has been cranking out sample rolls for potential customers to test. In the coming weeks, the company’s foils will officially enter the supply chain to be used in American EVs, Straubel said. “It’s literally the first time anyone has made that material in the US — ever — for a battery,” he said." "But having Straubel at the helm of Redwood is a selling point for investors who want to take a leap of faith today. He was the mastermind behind Tesla’s battery strategy and his connections from Silicon Valley to Wall Street helped the company raise $2 billion in private funding and secure a $2 billion loan commitment from the Department of Energy that it can tap once certain milestones are met." https://lnkd.in/eBZYsBcZ

#China is far ahead in controlling #battery and #EV materials. There is a long way to go for the #US to catch up. Can #Redwood and its battery #recycling technology be a game changer or not? I would like to hear your opinion.

The comments section here is fascinating. Worth reading!

A colleague shared this substack with me regarding the challenges of the EV market. In testimony before Congress, author Robert Bryce lays out a compelling case as to why EV adoption has slowed and why it may be a giant bust for automakers. My 5 takeaways: 1. That most EV’s are sold in highly liberal zip codes. There is a strong political divide as to who buys EV’s based on political affiliation 2. He cites articles going back to like 1911 hyping electric vehicles - each with the same promise and still, no widespread adoption 3. From a MetalMiner perspective - we already know the story about the complicated supply chain issues where the US does not own the mining, processing and value add supply chain for critical metals and minerals including all of the usual suspects from rare earths to lithium, cobalt etc. In addition, China owns all of the downstream battery supply chain 4. The only way to make money selling these cars is to have full economies of scale. Tesla is the only company that has achieved that and every other car maker is losing big on EV’s 5. Any EV mandates will make us dependent upon China I’ll keep my politics out of this so what what do you think? Will EV’s ever take off in the US? Leave a comment. And don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter where we cover metal price developments on a weekly basis: https://lnkd.in/eDYjDrbq #criticalminerals #rareearthelements #lithiumbattery https://lnkd.in/e4f9wAfg

I been citing various sources regarding lithium and other mineral prices dropping like a stone in the water. Now it's little bit clearer. Lithium cost $85/kg in 2022; at the end of 2023 its $16/kg (that's 80% drop). Cobalt and Nickel price is also down nearly 40%. In USA battery cost $138/kWh and in China it is $126/kWh. If this continues, the EVs become more affordable as the manufacturers tries to sell more cars instead of making profit right now.

Is the electric car world about to be unsettled by a pinch of #salt? In this great Big View for Reuters Breakingviews by Katrina Hamlin, which I edited, she argues that #sodium batteries have the potential to drive #lithium-based cells off the road. That's chiefly because sodium is cheaper and abundant, especially in the Western world. There are of course shortcomings, but shifting to sodium could be a way to also loosen China's grip on key #batterymetals. Do you agree? Read her informative column and let us know. As always, we welcome your feedback. #ev #energytransition #China #autos #BYD #Tesla #Stellantis #evbatteries https://lnkd.in/dECZ6vKq

Battery price war is kicking off that could soon make electric cars cheaper Researchers have made great strides in finding new battery chemistries. CATL and BYD now make EV batteries without any cobalt, an expensive, scarce metal linked to child labor and dangerous mining practices in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Economies of scale and new supplies of lithium make it possible to sell batteries more cheaply. And the world's largest carmaker, Toyota, is pinning its hopes on solid-state batteries in the hope these energy-dense, all but fireproof batteries will make possible EVs with a range of more than 746 miles per charge .

Sometimes, how we perceive the value is influenced by our recent experience and media. And sometimes this could be wrong. For example, let consider the difference between an electric cars and gasoline cars. Nowadays, electric cars are mostly considered as modern step-forward solution that should be "the way to go". But, let's play a bit. Imagine a hypothetical situation that electric cars are "the old" way and a gasoline cars are a new thing. In that case, it is easy to imagine an advert for the new gasoline technology saying something like this: - up to 800 km range - only 2 mins to recharge 100% - 5 x more recharging stations - no pollution from lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper mining - no CO2 emission due to a battery production Hm?