To support today’s Earth Day we are launching a new series of ‘EV battery facts & figures’ so we can jointly learn more about electric vehicle (EV) batteries and support one of the missions of the global Earth Day: enhance climate and environmental literacy. 

Are you up for it? Then let’s get started with 3 facts:

• When a car manufacturer launched the first e-mobility solution on the market in 2010, it was assumed that lithium-ion batteries would remain too cost-expansive and EVs will stay unattractive for the mass mobility market. Now, 11 years later, prices for lithium-ion EV battery packs have dropped around 85% and EVs have already reach break-even with ICE (internal combustion engine) powered vehicles. And the trend will continue with battery prices forecasted to drop ca. 10% YoY for the next years to come.
• Even the best quality batteries age over time – hence they lose storage capacity, and this impacts the car’s driving range. As a consequence, typically after 7-8 years of this first productive life they get removed from the car. But even at this point they still hold 70-80% of their original storage capacity.
• Recycling the battery at this early stage in their life, is not only a waste of valuable resources like lithium, cobalt and manganese as today’s recycling processes operate typically at 50% recovery rate only and are not environmentally friendly with significant levels of energy consumption and emissions relative to pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy processes commonly used. 

So, should drivers shy away from considering driving an EV? Not at all! There are powerful ways to reduce the impact on climate change caused by e-mobility. In part 2 of the series, we will give facts & figures and some practical advice around carbon-neutrality in e-mobility. Stay tuned.