Atlas EV Hub on LinkedIn: EV Hub Live #28: The Road to a Circular EV Battery Economy (2024)

Electric vehicle sales continue to grow globally. Segments such as commercial vehicles and two- and three-wheelers have already reached very high levels of electrification—at 26 percent and 47 percent, respectively. However, electric vehicle growth is not consistent globally, and some markets have seen a decrease in the pace of electrification including in the United States. Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s recently-released 2024 Electric Vehicle Outlook covers these trends and others, including the pace of public charging deployment, the breakdown of EV sales by battery-electric vehicles vs. plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and EV investment and market opportunities. We are joined in this episode by Corey Cantor from BNEF to discuss key takeaways from the report.

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Earlier this month, nearly 350 mayors across the country, through the Climate Mayors Initiative,pledged their commitmentto a bold new initiative aimed at significantly advancing the electrification of municipal fleets.These Climate Mayors have committed to electrifying at least 50 percent of their municipal vehicle fleets by 2030. Additionally, they plan to increase the number of electric vehicle (EV) chargers by at least 500 percent, with a strong focus on equity. More here: https://lnkd.in/eksBCSwx

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Last Friday marked the two-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which has proven to be one of the most significant pieces of federal climate legislation in U.S. history. IRA has unlocked billions of dollars for transportation-related initiatives, including the deployment and manufacturing of electric vehicles, and now those investments are beginning to pay off. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eann7GhN

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As electric vehicle adoption increases, the demand for critical minerals for batteries will also increase. There is an opportunity to create a closed loop minerals system through battery chemistry changes, energy density improvements, recycling, and other solutions. Already, chemistry changes and energy density improvements have significantly reduced virgin mineral demand. In this episode, E.J. Klock-McCook, principal of carbon-free transportation at RMI, and Daan Walter, principle of RMI’s strategy team, discuss recent research on this topic, including an RMI report released last month called “The Battery Mineral Loop: The path from extraction to circularity,” which explores what it would take to create a closed loop minerals system as we rapidly electrify transportation.

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As electric vehicle adoption increases, the demand for critical minerals for batteries will also increase. We have an opportunity to create a closed loop minerals system through battery chemistry changes, energy density improvements, recycling, and other solutions. Already, chemistry changes and energy density improvements have significantly reduced virgin mineral demand. In this episode, we talk with E.J. Klock-McCook, principal of carbon-free transportation at RMI, as well as Daan Walter, principle of RMI’s strategy team, about recent research on this topic. In particular, we discuss an RMI report released last month called “The Battery Mineral Loop: The path from extraction to circularity,” which explores what it would take to create a closed loop minerals system as we rapidly electrify transportation.

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Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)awardeda historic $4.3 billion through the Implementation Phase of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program.Nearly $1.18 billion of the CPRG funds were earmarked for transportation electrification projects, reflecting a significant investment in reducing transportation emissions.Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g92PB3hH

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On July 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)announcedanother $1.5 billion for 117 transit bus projects across 47 states as part of the third round of funding for the Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities and Low-and No-Emission Programs. Notably, 80 percent of thebuses fundedin this round will be low or zero emissions. Atlas Summer Fellow Pooja A. highlights the takeaways from this funding package here: https://lnkd.in/e_ba_7z5

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Last week, the Biden administrationannounced$1.7 billion of awards from theInflation Reduction Act (IRA) to convert eleven shuttered or at-risk auto manufacturing and assembly facilities into electric vehicle (EV) and EV components manufacturing sites. This funding is from the Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant Program, which promotes the conversion of existing facilities to EV manufacturing facilities production by offering cost-shared grantsRead more here: https://lnkd.in/epZ6HiKy

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Over the weekend, the United Auto Workers (UAW) Unionratified a new labor dealfor workers at Ultium Cells’ electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio. This development marks another significant step in efforts to unionize EV and EV battery factories.Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eThqGd2J

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