/technologies/power-management/b/blog/posts/retired-ev-batteries-could-be-reused-as-grid-storage-to-cut-emissions(Image credit: Pexels ) As electric vehicles (EVs) continue to rise in popularity, California is on track to retire millions of EV batteries over the next few decades. So, what happens to all those batteries once they can&#39;t power a car? A n...en-USTelligent Community 12https://community.element14.com/technologies/power-management/b/blog/posts/retired-ev-batteries-could-be-reused-as-grid-storage-to-cut-emissionsFri, 08 Aug 2025 14:19:36 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:16047668-2969-46ef-b863-6594a35a397cbeacon_dave1<p>Perhaps need to be careful with the definition of &#39;recycling&#39; when it comes to EV batteries.</p> <p>I saw a documentary about a new EV battery &#39;recycling&#39; plant a while back but all it was doing was cutting open old defective battery packs, extracting the cells, testing each cell individually and then building the still&nbsp;functioning&nbsp;ones into a new battery pack for resale. There was no actual &#39;<span>recovery of valuable materials&#39; involved as part of the &#39;recycling&#39; process. Any defective cells were disposed off via existing waste management processes.</span></p><img src="https://community.element14.com/aggbug?PostID=29125&AppID=4&AppType=Weblog&ContentType=0" width="1" height="1">https://community.element14.com/technologies/power-management/b/blog/posts/retired-ev-batteries-could-be-reused-as-grid-storage-to-cut-emissionsThu, 07 Aug 2025 19:18:39 GMT93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:16047668-2969-46ef-b863-6594a35a397cDAB2<p>Unrealistic.</p> <p>There will be significant CO2 emissions from the technologies used to recycle the batteries.</p> <p>When you factor in the recycle costs, and lithium mining costs, EV&#39;s are far more polluting than standard vehicles.</p><img src="https://community.element14.com/aggbug?PostID=29125&AppID=4&AppType=Weblog&ContentType=0" width="1" height="1">