Musk claims Tesla batteries are 100% recyclable, but experts refute it; electric vehicles still pose environmental risks

Whether electric cars are more environmentally friendly than fuel cars is still a hot topic among many car enthusiasts. One important reason is that the recycling of power batteries is a major challenge to electric car manufacturers and the environment.

Tesla has previously released a lithium-ion battery recycling plan, saying that the company can recycle 100% of used lithium-ion batteries. Its ultimate goal is set as "high recycling rate, low cost and low environmental impact", but the plan did not disclose the current progress.

Tesla also said that most of the batteries currently recycled under the program come from its own research and development and quality control departments, and the number of batteries from the market is extremely low. Only a few operating vehicles with higher mileage are recycled due to battery degradation.

However, the "100% recycling" in Tesla's report seems to mean "100% of used batteries will be recycled in some way", rather than "every battery can be 100% recycled."

Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, a professional foreign disassembly organization, said that currently no modern battery can be 100% recycled because there are a large number of non-recyclable materials such as adhesives and sealants.

The battery industry has been conducting research and development and innovation, but at present, the recycling of used batteries is still a dual technical and commercial challenge.

It is reported that currently, power lithium batteries are mainly divided into two types: lithium iron phosphate and ternary lithium. Heavy metals such as cobalt, nickel, manganese and lithium in them can be recycled and reused, but the high recycling cost makes it difficult to recycle waste batteries effectively. A paper pointed out that currently, recycling 1 ton of lithium iron phosphate batteries requires multiple processes to purify heavy metals, with a cost of up to 8,500 yuan, but the market value of the metals obtained is only 9,000 yuan.

At present, the electric vehicle industry is in its infancy. The power batteries of most electric vehicles are still strong in performance, and retired on-board batteries still have some capacity that can be utilized in the energy storage field in a cascade manner. However, in the future, when the electric vehicle industry faces a large number of scrapped on-board batteries, battery recycling will be a major challenge for the industry and the environmental ecology.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.