Why we shouldn’t recycle old EV batteries… yet.

Electric vehicle batteries are lasting far longer than many people expected. So when they eventually leave their cars, should we immediately recycle them—or give them a second life storing renewable energy? This week we look at real-world projects in the USA, Canada and Australia, and discover why rapidly falling battery prices, different chemistries and some surprising economics are making that decision far more complicated than it first appears.

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Reference Links

Reuters article
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/europe-drives-global-ev-sales-growth-august-offsetting-china-north-america-2026-09-10/

ICCT report
https://theicct.org/pr-battery-electric-cars-europe-market-share-spikes-29-august

AFRY report
https://beyondfossilfuels.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/AFRY_BFF_Grid-expectations-The-distribution-backlog-stalling-Europes-energy-transition-report.pdf

Bloomberg report
https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-transport/lithium-ion-battery-pack-prices-fall-to-108-per-kilowatt-hour-despite-rising-metal-prices-bloombergnef

Relectrify
https://arena.gov.au/assets/2025/05/Relectrify-Second-life-battery-trial-Final-knowledge-sharing-report.pdf

Dalhousie Paper
https://resl.me.dal.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/nrc-dal-2nd-life-ancillary-svc-year-1-report-final-3.pdf

IEA Global EV Outlook 2026
https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/857aa690-2a43-453f-9f12-147cc8f0a1dd/GlobalEVOutlook2026.pdf

IEA Electric Car Markets in a Time of Uncertainty
https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a096b500-9d47-411d-a5db-b297a5d95927/ElectricCarMarketsinaTimeofUncertainty.pdf

Environmental Science & Technology paper
https://pubs.acs.org/esthag/article-pdf/59/30/15751/41007312/es5c01823.pdf

EU Data Update
https://alternative-fuels-observatory.ec.europa.eu/general-information/news/eafo-data-update-news-flash-september-2026

Guardian article on Australian EV sales
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/04/ev-sales-outpace-petrol-cars-for-first-time-as-australians-dodge-soaring-fuel-costs

Cobb et al - Economic pathways for used EV batteries
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261926004617

Samsar
https://samsar.us/

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