EV batteries pose big risks — and new figures reveal how much hazardous waste they could create
As Australia passes the milestone of 100,000 electric vehicles on our roads, an environmental downside to reducing carbon emissions is looming sooner than many would expect: huge numbers of batteries that could end up in landfill.
Research from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) suggests 30,000 tonnes of EV batteries will reach their end-of-life in Australia by as soon as 2030. This is forecast to blow out to 360,000 tonnes by 2040, and 1.6 million tonnes by 2050.
Experts are warning of a "huge waste stream" that poses a triple threat: fire risks in landfill, environmental impacts, and health hazards caused if toxic chemicals leech into land and waterways.
"We need to take action now," said Libby Chaplin, CEO of the Battery Stewardship Council (BSC), the government-backed body set up to plan for battery waste in Australia.
The BSC has long been warning about the risks of lithium batteries combusting in landfill if they are damaged or crushed, despite bans on e-waste in landfill in some jurisdictions in Australia
"Right now, with the smaller [lithium] batteries in the general waste and recycling stream, they're seeing fires in waste tracks on a pretty regular basis," Ms Chaplin said.
Early dumping of batteries means forecasts could be optimistic
EVs still make up less than 4 per cent of new vehicle sales in Australia, according to the national industry body, the EV Council.
But it estimates there are now 100,000 EVs on Australian roads, and that uptake will take off if a fuel efficiency standard is implemented as expected.
Most EV batteries weigh around half a tonne. As well as plastic, aluminium, wires and casings, the battery cells inside them include many precious and finite metals, such as lithium and copper.
Manufacturers generally guarantee EV batteries for at least a decade, but researchers at UTS believe they could end up lasting for an average of 16 years each.
Using that assumption, the university modelled the looming waste stream.
"I was particularly surprised about the numbers," UTS senior research consultant Rusty Langdon said.
Ms Chaplin said it represented a "massive increase".
"We need to take action now to ensure that we have the capacity and the infrastructure built up, to be able to manage that waste responsibly, when the time comes," she said.