If the U.S. is to compete in next generation vehicles, it needs to produce electric vehicles — and also recycle their spent batteries.
A Tesla assembly line of the early Model S sedans in 2012. Credit: Steve Jurvetson, Creative Commons
The world's carmakers are maneuvering toward an electric future, but China’s grip on the precious minerals vital to the new vehicles may spark another revolution: a race to retrieve and recycle batteries.
General Motors announced in January that it plans a major switch to electric vehicles, in a bid to compete with Tesla, the world’s most valuable car company, as well as Nio, a Chinese EV startup whose stock market value is now equal to GM. All want the best technology to persuade consumers to trade in their gas powered automobiles, but automakers will also have to figure out how to keep their climate-conscious models moving.
China now controls much of the supply chain for cobalt, a critical element for the most powerful electric vehicle batteries. It also dominates the supply of lithium and nickel, metals used in a variety of batteries. China has hinted that it could move to restrict the export of key elements, like the rare earths crucial to the defense sector, creating con
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