Red State passes Blue State in----------------------Renewable Energy!

Isn't there something called the law of diminishing returns when discussing electric storage with used batteries?

Let's say we all go to battery powered cars.... Where are we going to keep getting the necessary elements to keep producing batteries?

Pretty sure they're not infinitely recyclable

 

This Tesla engineer talks about this. There is also a lot of cutting-edge research occurring in areas where EVs are more commonplace - California, China, etc.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...ches-from-your-old-batteries/?sh=620f00033726

The engineer who helped Elon Musk turn Tesla into a powerhouse sees a future “where every vehicle is electric” – and an unfathomably profitable market in recycling the valuable metal from all those batteries.

In 2020, Redwood’s first full year of operation, it processed 10,000 tons of scrap from Panasonic and Envision AESC and electronic waste containing batteries from Amazon. Straubel expects Redwood to process double that in 2021, as it’s also begun sourcing used batteries (and solar panels) from ERI, North America’s biggest e-waste recycler and electric bus builder Proterra.
...
Redwood has a proprietary hydro-chemical process to separate out various metals, with some batteries undergoing heating in ovens. All the alloy collected then goes through a chemical process to convert it to usable material. (Flammable battery electrolyte is allowed to self-combust under contained conditions, without any added fuels or emissions being released.) “We basically disassemble those things chemically and start to separate out the useful materials and use those as the building blocks to manufacturing.”

 

Sodium-ion, as a replacement for lithium-ion is also being used, and will be available in cars this year. Lithium prices have been as high as $80,000 per ton. Sodium carbonate - $300/ton.
...
Despite being chemically similar, sodium-ion batteries today have considerably lower energy density than lithium batteries. That’s a detriment, but bear in mind that not too long ago, LFP batteries were woefully deficient in their energy storage capability. But today’s LFP batteries are nearly as energy dense as lithium-ion batteries were just a few years ago. Things are moving quickly in battery development. The sodium-ion batteries available today will likely improve just as quickly.

The use of sodium in EV batteries could be a game-changer, making EV cars much, much more affordable than ICEs. Personally, you give me a car that has a 125-mile range, and I'm good. That will satisfy 99.99% of my driving. I'll figure out something else for the 1 in 1000 event where I need more mileage.