Electric vehicle batteries last a long time, but eventually, they stop holding a charge. When that happens, the materials inside are still incredibly valuable. Now, General Motors and Cirba Solutions have found a way to turn those old batteries into brand-new ones.

The two companies recently finished a pilot program to recycle EV batteries in the U.S. They took materials from end-of-life GM battery packs and used them to create new ones. These are the first GM batteries built with cathode active material containing 100% recycled nickel, cobalt, and manganese.

How GM Did It

A GM team member installs battery modules with cells made with recycled battery materials; Photo: General Motors

GM sent old battery packs to a Cirba Solutions facility in Ohio, where workers disassembled and shredded them to produce “Black Mass.” This is a concentrated material packed with the critical minerals that make batteries work.

The recycled nickel, cobalt, and manganese must meet the same standards as newly mined materials. Because of this, teams refined the Black Mass to validate its performance and created brand-new material.

Advertisement

After that, Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution, built the new battery cells. GM workers then assembled the battery packs at their Factory ZERO and Spring Hill plants. The very first cars powered by these recycled minerals rolled off the line this month and are going to customers.

“This pilot shows that the value of an EV battery can extend well beyond its first life – and that strong partnerships across the battery ecosystem are essential to building a more circular, resilient future for battery technology,” said Melissa Flaherty, Director of Sustainable EV Battery Ecosystem at GM.

A Need for Batteries

By 2040, nearly 14 million EV batteries will reach the end of their life globally. At the same time, the demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to skyrocket. Processing these materials domestically means we can reuse them across EVs, consumer devices, and energy storage systems.

“Battery recycling is an important, intersecting component across the battery supply chain, and this program effectively demonstrates the value that recycling end-of-life batteries brings to creating a closed-loop supply of critical minerals,” David Klanecky, President and CEO of Cirba Solutions, explained. “The global battery supply chain is an interconnected network of innovative and collaborative organizations – and engaging in partnerships like this with GM shows us how this work can truly strengthen our supply chains, manufacturing, global competitiveness, and national security.”