Before or after getting an EV, you may have asked yourself, “What happens when the batteries die?” or “Can you recycle Tesla batteries?”
Tesla has a battery swapping station and an incentive program for its customers.
An incentive plan is to help owners switch their old and dead batteries for new ones at a discounted price.
Can you recycle Tesla batteries? Why don’t you continue reading to discover what these batteries are recycled into and more?
How Does Tesla Recycle Its Old Batteries?
Even when a battery can no longer function again, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s dead and should be taken to the junkyard.
Instead, when a battery dies and can no longer power a vehicle, its parts are separated and recycled in the same manner they were packaged.
However, before recycling it, Tesla found a way to increase the battery life by reusing it.
In Tesla’s opinion, increasing the battery pack capacity is preferable to recycling for commercial and environmental purposes.
For these reasons, the manufacturer does everything in its power to extend the usage before dismantling it for recycling.
The Tesla batteries are held together firmly by polythene cement. Notwithstanding, Tesla still goes to considerable lengths to recycle used-up EV batteries.
Battery recycling is costly because many complex steps are taken before removing functional elements.
Nonetheless, old Tesla batteries can be recycled into new ones or repurposed for other things.
Tesla batteries are mostly made from lithium metal oxides. Significantly, the anode is made from graphite, the electrolyte from lithium salt, and the cathode from lithium, nickel-cobalt, and aluminum.
Fortunately, harmful materials like mercury, lead, cadmium, and chromium are absent in Tesla batteries.
Tesla Recycling Process
Firstly, when recycling a Tesla battery, the company checks and takes apart all electronic components to ensure they are still usable.
Then, the still functional electronics are put to use while the unusable ones are transferred to recycling facilities to be reprocessed locally.
Tesla is one of the few vehicle manufacturers that disagrees with disposing of batteries in dump yards.
So, instead, the manufacturer announced the opening of its recycling facility in 2019 to recycle its batteries properly.
To ensure the cleanest and most effective recycling procedure, the automaker collaborates with other recycling businesses in addition to recycling its batteries. Tesla collaborates with third-party recyclers located all over the world.
All scraps and batteries that have ended their useful lives are processed to recover valuable metals.
Moreover, they assist in getting rid of metals that are not valuable and cannot be recovered.
Most of its recycling processes are carried out in its Shanghai Giga plant.
The Shanghai Giga Factory is the world’s largest producer of batteries but also the most technologically advanced facility for recycling used batteries.
Following this, Tesla transfers the materials it cannot process to third-party recyclers.
Why Is Recycling Important?
Sadly, many dead lithium-ion batteries are disposed of in dump yards or kept for too long in storage facilities.
In addition, these batteries can catch fire if they are exposed to heat. Therefore, storing these batteries at home can be very risky.
You should also know that disposing of these batteries in soil exposes the environment to dangerous poisons, which may affect nearby water bodies.
Tesla utilizes a closed-loop method to get optimal results in making new batteries.
This option is more beneficial to the environment and financially more advantageous than the cost of acquiring fresh raw materials.
The material thrown into the landfill is fluff from the batteries, and this dust has been made harmless with liquid nitrogen.
Unfortunately, electric vehicle batteries are rarely recycled due largely to cost.
Conclusion
Can you recycle Tesla batteries? Now that you know both the possibility and the end use of recycling, you can.
Furthermore, the recycling procedures are done safely, considering the environment and health.
Now that your question “Can you recycle Tesla batteries?” has been answered, you should also know how and what these batteries are recycled into.
However, if you’re yet to see if you can recycle your Tesla batteries, kindly read this article.
