Over 80 businesses have joined forces to tackle the end-of-life issue for lithium-ion batteries.
Vector has today announced the launch of the Battery Industry Group (B.I.G), a cross-industry collaboration that will design reuse and recycling solutions for large batteries, commonly found in electric vehicles or in stationary energy storage.
The vision and context for the group is provided by the
New Energy Futures Paper: Batteries and the Circular Economy by Vector, also released today at an event attended by Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage. The paper is accompanied by a
Technical Addendum, in which Vector transparently shares all research and data gathered to-date.
B.I.G. is a significant move for the business community, being described by internationally prominent sustainability charity, Forum for the Future, as a ‘lightning rod’ for the public and private sector in New Zealand.
The group aims to propose a ‘circular’ product stewardship scheme for end-of-use and end-of-life battery management to the Ministry for the Environment within the next 12 months. This will include recommendations on consistent safety guidance for the handling, storage and shipping of used large batteries.
The group has a core delivery team of Vector, Eunomia Research & Consulting and WasteMINZ, with funding from Vector, EECA and the Motor Industry Association of New Zealand.
The move acknowledges the important role businesses can play in not only front-footing the e-waste challenge, but also acting as a catalyst to accelerate our transition to a low-emission circular economy.
“Vector recognises that electrification of transport presents a significant opportunity to help New Zealand achieve a zero-carbon future,” said Vector Group CEO, Simon Mackenzie.
“The research in the New Energy Futures Paper tells us that there will be between 500 and 1,000 EV batteries coming to the end of their lives by 2020, potentially rising to 17,000 by 2025 and a staggering 84,000 by 2030 .
“While batteries are key to powering our new energy future, they contain valuable materials that come at an environmental and social cost. It’s clear that we must work collaboratively with others to ensure we have a proactive, robust plan in place to make the most of battery capacity, as well as mitigating any risks from their disposal. This initiative will produce the circular blueprint we need to achieve this.”
EECA Chief Executive Andrew Caseley welcomed the launch of the group, noting that once lithium-ion batteries are no longer fit for purpose in vehicles, they still have capacity in other applications, such as stationary storage for homes or industry. “There is concern about battery afterlife, and this is a proactive initiative to address that.”
The
New Energy Futures Paper is the culmination of research commissioned by Vector from Eunomia with the Batteries Leaders Group in 2018. That group now forms the basis of the wider B.I.G. and its three working groups: the
Safety & Logistics Group, the
Battery Innovation Hub, and the
Battery User Group.
Interested parties are welcome to join. For more information, please visit
big.org.nz,
or join the conversation on Twitter:
@batteryloop #batterykarma
ENDS
To read the
New Energy Futures Paper: Batteries and the Circular Economy paper visit:
https://bit.ly/newenergyfuture
To read the accompanying
technical addendum click here
To find out more about the Battery Industry Group visit: