The Importance of Li-ion Battery Recycling and What Will Drive It?

Despite the impact of Covid-19, substantial volumes of Li-ion batteries will soon be reaching their end-of-life. A new IDTechEx report, "Li-ion Battery Recycling: 2020-2040" estimates that 2020 will see 330 kt of waste Li-ion battery. The majority of this will derive from consumer electronics. However, it is the sheer volume of end-of-life electric vehicle batteries which will be problematic if not properly dealt with, but there are several factors that suggest the recycling market will grow to meet this requirement. The large electric vehicle markets of Europe and the USA are increasingly concerned with the implications of relying on external raw material and battery supplies and are actively seeking to develop a domestic supply of critical materials, including those present in Li-ion batteries. While the US is home to some key material resources such as graphite and lithium, Europe is resource-poor. Recycling, of manufacturing scrap or end-of-life batteries, could therefore be a key resource allowing for some diversification of supply. For the lithium-cobalt-oxide batteries used in the vast majority of consumer devices, the intrinsic value is relatively high, and recycling can be profitable from recovering cobalt and copper alone. Indeed, old consumer electronics could be a significant source of cobalt in the short-medium term, though hoarding, collection and distribution challenges make this unlikely. EV batteries on the other hand will be easier to track, collect and manage. However, the material value in an EV battery, on a $/kg basis, is lower due to the smaller amounts of cobalt used per kWh - and manufacturers are aiming to further reduce cobalt content, and even reduce nickel content further down the line. With this in mind, numerous companies are developing and commercializing various recycling processes, and combinations thereof, to recover more material from Li-ion cells in order to capture as much value as possible. Estimated material value in a 60 kWh battery of different chemistries based on April 2020 metal prices. The importance of sustainable battery production should not be overlooked. The growth in electric vehicle and stationary storage markets are driven by environmental concerns. As the environmental and ethical impacts of Li-ion production are increasingly highlighted (sincerely or otherwise), so too does the importance of considering the entire life cycle of Li-ion batteries. Ensuring proper end-of-life management, for example via recycling, and using recycled material can help reduce energy and material requirements throughout the manufacturing chain and could help present companies with a marketing advantage. Europe has seen increasing interest in providing EVs with domestic supply of batteries, e.g. Northvolt, PSA-Saft, TerraE or Britishvolt. However, competing with Asian battery giants on volume and cost is likely to be a difficult proposition. Instead, ensuring minimal environmental footprint and visible supply chains can be a differentiator for them. Read more about the report.

1. Lawnmower help!!!?

The SAE 30 is a fairly common oil, you can find it at any WalMart, Kmart, or auto parts store.... Brands like Valvoline, Penzoil, Motorcraft, Quaker, etc will run 3 to 4 dollars a quart. It is important to keep a good oil level, if you run the mower with low, or no oil, you can damage the engine. As someone else mentioned, a few of the higher end mowers do have a low oil sensor. Another common sensor is the would eadman' switch under the seat... you have to be seated on the mower for it to start...if it is running, and you get up off the seat, the mower will be cut off immediately. This is a safety feature. Occasionally, these sensors need to be replaced. More often than not, a mower not starting is because it needs a simple tune up.... new spark plug (set to the correct gap), occaionally, points, etc. If the gas has been in it for awhile, there could be some moisture in the gas. The air filter needs to be cleaned and/or replaced. The battery should be checked...some use a sealed battery, which, when it no longer holds a charge needs to be replaced. Batteries with a cap can be opened to check the water level. Good Luck

2. Why patents will shape the future of battery science

The fundamental chemistry of the lithium-ion batteries that drive our smart phones has remained largely unchanged for decades, but there will come a point where it is no longer sufficient for our needs. We've all experienced the frustration caused when our phone dies mid-call or while downloading an important file. There have also been concerns about the safety of our phone batteries which, in some instances, have led to the mass recall of products. Unsurprisingly, many companies are investigating ways to give our smartphone batteries a boost, with research underway to both improve current technology and find alternatives. For instance, lithium-sulfur batteries are being investigated for long range electric vehicles and lithium-air batteries are being developed for power grid applications. In order for such technologies to make it into our pockets, companies will look to protect these advances - but this is problematic for several reasons. Lithium-ion batteries have been around since the 1970s and so intellectual property (IP) protection for improvements tends to be narrow. Accordingly, it can be difficult for innovators to get products to market as they may lack the IP necessary to protect their innovations. While new battery chemistries may offer broader protection, identifying alternative battery chemistries is costly and challenging, for instance because of the need to meet safety standards and to be suitable for retrofitting to existing devices. To date, most of the improvements to batteries have been achieved by refining the architecture and programming of our devices. Greater manufacturing fidelity and improved battery management systems have resulted in big improvements in efficiency, extending our battery life. Of course, it is possible next generation batteries may not be found in the near future simply because the technological challenges are too great. For this reason, innovators may need to consider other ways to secure commercial exclusivity in a sector that has been using the same core technology for so many years. One route to broad commercial protection for a new smartphone battery would be to import existing battery chemistry from another technical field. This is difficult to achieve, but has an advantage as the need to develop entirely new chemical processes is removed. The adoption of existing technology from related fields can attract surprisingly broad IP protection, which in turn improves the likelihood that such technologies will be funded and succeed. Some innovators may also take a broader view of the battery market place and supply chain to see if they can obtain the monopoly necessary to sustain a new product. They could protect the way in which it interfaces with a device; the essential components and raw materials used to make the battery; or even the process used to make essential components or raw materials. If a key bottleneck in the supply chain can be found, broad protection for these inventions may be available - which would indirectly protect a substantial portion of the battery market. For example, a patent for an improved lithium extraction process could be used to control the production of batteries for portable devices perhaps even more effectively than patents covering the batteries themselves. Other strategies companies will consider for obtaining an effective monopoly involve filing IP in spaces which have strict regulations on form and function. If a company is the first to adapt an existing battery process for a device, or the first to implement a new safety feature which may become industry standard, competitors may be forced to use their technology and pay licence fees. To succeed in claiming a stake in the future of battery technology, manufacturers will consider all of these options, balancing the need to bring new inventions to market quickly with the need to ensure they are patent protected and the scope of that protection relates to the broadest possible range of market applications. This could mean we will see a step change in the sector's approach to patents in the coming years.

3. When you do (and don't) need portable solar panels

Solar power is one of the most confusing topics for RV travelers in general, and it really should not be. It's simple technology that adds free power to your Airstream's batteries and it just works. For most people, it's the obvious choice for extending their off-grid camping time. The big advantage of using solar power is that once you install the hardware, there's no ongoing cost or maintenance. When the sun shines, power flows into the batteries. You do not have to flick a switch or remember to do anything. The system turns on automatically when the sun comes up, and it goes off when the sun goes down or the batteries are full. Since solar is also silent, it's great if you like to camp in quiet settings and do not want to hear a generator running for hours. And it does a better job of charging batteries than a generator. If you are thinking solar is for you, your next choice is whether to install fixed solar panels on the roof or get portable solar panels that you can deploy on the ground. Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of each: Complex and expensive installation, usually done professionally Bigger theoretical capacity usually compared to portable panels (200-400 watts depending on rooftop area) Power collection happens anytime, even when towing or in storage Wo not collect power if the trailer is parked in shade Panels can not be oriented to the sun No installation required, just plug and play. No holes drilled in the Airstream Ca not leave it set up while in storage or when towing Can collect power when the Airstream is in shade Panels can be easily oriented to the sun to optimize effectiveness Sometimes people ask if they can have both rooftop solar and portable solar. The answer is generally "We do not recommend it" unless the system is designed that way from the outset. If purchased separately, each system will come with different panels and charge controllers. The panels need to be matched (all the same) and two charge controllers will confuse each other, so if you've already got rooftop solar, you will not get the best results by trying to augment it with a portable solar kit. When people install rooftop solar on an Airstream they usually go big, putting up as many panels as will fit on the roof. This helps compensate for the fact that the panels are fixed in position (facing straight up) and can not point at the sun when it is rising or setting. But in this case you are paying for a fairly expensive solar array that is not producing as well as it could. That's exactly why our Portable Solar Kit can perform as well as a much bigger rooftop system. The lightweight panels can be pointed directly at the sun no matter where it is-down low on the horizon, or hidden behind trees-because you can tilt, orient, and move the panels to be where the sun is. In addition, our Portable Solar Kit uses a very high quality Merlin panel that has thousands of "interconnects" in each panel, many more than traditional panels. That means the panels are less affected by a bit of shading, say, from a leaf. The net result of this and the ability to move the panels to point at the sun means the 160-watt Portable Solar Kit can yield as much power as a significantly larger rooftop array. If you do not want to have to deploy a portable array each time you need it, or you need your solar panels to be producing all the time, rooftop solar may be for you. If you want the maximum power for your buck, maximum flexibility, and only need solar occasionally, portable solar will probably work better and save you money.