This new community guide offers practical steps to empower frontline communities and workers in navigating the complexities of battery recycling, understanding the health implications, and questions to ask for participating in decision-making processes. This guide is intended to support communities across the globe that are facing a new battery recycling facility proposal or dealing with impacts of an existing project.
batteries
This infosheet explains the growing issue of “black mass,” the hazardous byproduct created when electric vehicle (EV) batteries are shredded and treated for recycling. Black mass contains a mix of valuable but toxic materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and fluorine compounds, yet there is no standard definition or classification for it across countries. Despite its harmful components, black mass is not always regulated as hazardous waste, often due to economic or political pressures that seek to ease trade restrictions. The global trade in black mass largely flows from EV battery manufacturing hubs in China and South Korea, through processing in India and Southeast Asia, and into smelters worldwide, feeding back into new battery production. This complex, transnational chain raises major concerns for health, safety, and environmental protection.
This resource provides policy recommendations on Environmental Justice (EJ) Standards for repurposing electric vehicle (EV) batteries. It also summarizes a one-day technical workshop on EJ Standards for the Repurposing of Used EV Batteries, co-hosted by GAIA and ClimateWorks. The event gathered clean energy advocates, environmental justice representatives, labor representatives, industry experts, researchers, and policymakers to discuss the challenges and solutions related to the repurposing of EV batteries.
On April 30, GAIA sent two submissions to the UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change, responding to her call for inputs on Human Rights in the Life Cycle of Renewable Energy and Critical Minerals. These inputs, one global and one specific to Asia-Pacific, highlight evidence-based risks and recommendations to reduce harm and advance a just transition in battery materials. The submissions propose a zero waste approach that centers reuse, repair, and redesign to protect human rights and environmental health. GAIA’s recommendations are intended to help shape the Special Rapporteur’s thematic report to the Human Rights Council.
On April 30, GAIA sent two submissions to the UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change, responding to her call for inputs on Human Rights in the Life Cycle of Renewable Energy and Critical Minerals. These inputs, one global and one specific to Asia-Pacific, highlight evidence-based risks and recommendations to reduce harm and advance a just transition in battery materials. The submissions propose a zero waste approach that centers reuse, repair, and redesign to protect human rights and environmental health. GAIA’s recommendations are intended to help shape the Special Rapporteur’s thematic report to the Human Rights Council.
The PFAS in Electric Vehicle Batteries Info Sheet sheds light on the risks associated with per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. A subset of PFAS, polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), is widely used in binders, separators, and electrolytes in EV batteries, which presents significant risks of PFAS exposure to facility workers and surrounding communities across the manufacturing and recycling stages of the battery supply chain. GAIA calls for higher transparency on PFAS use and management throughout the battery lifecycle, in addition to stronger efforts to reduce PFAS use in EV battery manufacturing.
Esta publicación de preguntas y respuestas responde a preguntas clave sobre lo que ocurre con las baterías de los vehículos eléctricos (VE) después de su uso, los retos de las tecnologías de reciclaje actuales y las soluciones necesarias para un sistema verdaderamente circular. Conozca la pirometalurgia, la hidrometalurgia, el reciclaje directo y las recomendaciones de GAIA para un enfoque justo y eficaz.
This GAIA publication answers key questions about what happens to EV batteries after use, the challenges of current recycling technologies, and the solutions needed for a truly circular system. Learn about pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, direct recycling, and GAIA’s recommendations for a just and effective approach.
Now is the critical moment for the battery industry to adopt zero waste solutions from the outset. By integrating environmental justice and end-of-life considerations into the design of systems, products and access to information, we can drive innovation that supports true circularity and a just transition, ensuring that no communities are left behind while advancing climate solutions.