COP 26 is being held this week in Glasgow, gathering government officials in an attempt to find solutions to curb CO2 emissions. Something we at Fenix believe can have a hand in helping.
A recent paper published by DRAX* underlined the importance of having domestic recyclers. The paper explained that battery recycling significantly reduces the emissions created during the manufacturing of batteries, just as recycling a glass bottle can reduce the energy needed to make a new one. Therein lies the problem! It is not always true that recycling something reduces the energy to make a replacement. In the case of bottles, it depends upon the distance between the glass bottle and the nearest glass bottle recycler. In the same way, it is not always a given that it is carbon positive to recycle batteries, it depends upon the recycling method and resulting value chain routes.
This problem is recognised by the EU parliament, which on March 1st 2021, proposed mandatory requirements on sustainability, such as carbon footprint rules, performance and durability criteria and requirements for end-of-life management, among others.
At Fenix we are already working hard on minimising the battery recycling carbon footprint. We take a close look at any and all new recycling techniques and processing routes, being mindful to make a significant carbon saving to minimise the aforementioned carbon cost of travel.
Reducing emissions and positioning our society for a greener future is one of our central goals as we further the UK’s battery recycling capabilities. Recycling UK waste within the UK can have a big impact on local employment and economic growth, providing high skill jobs in the UK and reducing our dependency on primary and/or imported resources.
We value the strong partnerships we are developing with both the local regulatory authorities and with UK innovators and businesses. We aim to work with our partners to enable Fenix to scale up the UK’s battery recycling capabilities and capacity. Together, we can unlock the potential that exists to recycle and reuse more and to minimise the environmental impact of our increasing reliance on clean battery technologies.
*How clean is my electric car? https://www.drax.com/opinion/how-clean-is-my-electric-car/
