The batteries will be recycled in China and then used again.
One of the more contentious points of the electric vehicle conversation is batteries. Can we make them cleaner and more ethical? What happens to them after they can’t be used anymore? BMW appears to have an answer for the latter, it announced this week. That answer comes in the form of recycling, a program that BMW has just started in China.
Notably, this solution will not only lay the groundwork for programs like this globally, but these batteries won’t just be staying in China. Batteries from vehicles like the BMW iX and BMW i4 will be pulled from their homes and used in a myriad of places, including industrial equipment.
This isn’t all on BMW either. Chinese policy dictates that batteries must be tracked throughout their lifecycle. That, of course, includes what happens to them at the end of their lifecycle. BMW tracks every single battery they have, from development mules to cars currently in production. In China, that includes an electrified X3 SUV.
One of two things happens once a battery leaves the car it called home. Either A) the battery is reused, or B) it is recycled. The reuse, at least one instance thereof, comes in the form of forklifts in BMW factories. If the batteries can’t be used to power other vehicles, raw materials like cobalt, nickel, and lithium are pulled out and used to make more batteries for more cars. Right now, BMW says most of these batteries are coming out of test vehicles, as current production models just aren’t old enough to donate their batteries just yet. That will, however, change as vehicles like the iX age.
BMW says the benefit from recycling these batteries is almost immediate. The Bavarian brand says it’s seeing a 70% reduction in C02 emissions as compared to using freshly-made battery materials. “In light of the growing scarcity of finite resources and rising commodity prices, it is especially important to push forward with the circular economy, increase the percentage of reusable materials and reduce our dependence on raw materials,” said Jochen Goller, head of BMW Group Region China.
In the future, BMW plans on upping its recycling programs in China which will be in keeping with the brand’s climate goals. That includes climate neutrality for the brand’s entire supply chain by 2050 at the absolute latest, as well as 50% of sales to be electrified by 2030.
