Britain’s black-mass problem
The thorny business of recycling electric-vehicle batteries
Recycling electric-vehicle batteries is tricky. But they are full of critical minerals—lithium, cobalt and other commodities—that are vital to the green transition. At the moment most EV manufacturers in Britain crush old batteries into a material called “black mass”, which is then exported to other countries—mostly, experts say, to China. There the black mass is dissolved in acid before the most useful materials are separated and processed.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Black mass”
Britain April 20th 2024
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From the April 20th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
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The slow death of a Labour buzzword
And what that says about Britain’s place in the world
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At last. Britons had been wondering what those 34m people who are not men might be
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A new paper looks at one explanation for the rise of Reform UK
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