ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUPPLEMENTAL & ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
INCLUDING BATTERIES, UTILITY GRID, MINING, EMISSIONS, SAFETY
BATTERY RECYCLING
April 2026 – EV Magazine - Top 10: Battery Recycling Companies
"The top companies driving innovative technology and sustainability in recycling EV batteries include Glencore, Fortum, Redwood Materials and Umicore." Four of these companies are located in the U.S. (Note that Ascend Elements of Massachusetts declared bankruptcy)
Oct. 2025 – Electrek - Forget the myths: EV batteries are now more than 99% recyclable
"All those people who want you to believe mining for EV batteries is as dirty as drilling for oil? They don’t want you to know about recycling – and they really don’t want you to know about a new pilot recycling program is promising a radical leap in battery recycling efficiency, with recovery reportedly rates exceeding 99% for critical metals like nickel, cobalt, and manganese."
Sept. 2025 – GreenCars: How EV Batteries Are Recycled
"As electric vehicles (EVs) become more common, so do questions about what happens to their batteries at the end of life. EV batteries contain valuable materials that can be recovered and reused, reducing the need for new mining and supporting a more sustainable future. This guide breaks down how the EV battery recycling process works and why it matters."
BATTERY REPURPOSING
June 2026 – The Battery Magazine: Moment Energy Opens World’s Largest EV Battery Repurposing Megafactory in Canada
"The new megafactory converts retired EV batteries into battery energy storage systems (BESS) designed to support critical infrastructure, including data centres, hospitals, manufacturing facilities, and microgrids. By repurposing used EV batteries, the company aims to address the growing demand for reliable electricity while extending battery life and reducing waste."
June 2026 – The EV Report: Waymo Repurposes Retired EV Batteries for Grid Storage
"Waymo will give batteries retired from its all-electric fleet a second use as grid-scale energy storage, through a program expected to deploy hundreds of megawatts of capacity across the cities where it operates. The autonomous-driving company is partnering with B2U Storage Solutions, a firm that specializes in turning used EV batteries into stationary systems connected to the electricity grid."
April 2026 – EcoTechNews: The Trillion-Dollar Battery Pivot: Turning EV Waste into Gold
"We’ve officially crossed the 40-million-vehicle threshold for the global EV fleet. This isn’t just a win for tailpipe emissions; it’s the starting gun for a trillion-dollar shift in how we handle energy storage. When an EV battery drops to 80% capacity, the automotive world calls it “spent.” I call that a technical misnomer. Those cells aren’t dead; they’ve simply graduated from the high-performance, high-discharge demands of the highway to the steady, rhythmic life of grid storage."
BATTERY ALTERNATIVES
Feb. 2026 – MIT Technology Review: What’s next for EV batteries in 2026
"Lithium-ion batteries are the default chemistry used in EVs, personal devices, and even stationary storage systems on the grid today. But in a tough environment in some markets like the US, there’s a growing interest in cheaper alternatives. Automakers right now largely care just about batteries’ cost, regardless of performance improvements."
Jan. 2026 – RankRed: 11 New Battery Technologies To Watch In 2026
"...we explore cutting-edge new battery technologies that hold the potential to reshape energy systems, drive sustainability, and support the green transition. We highlight some of the most promising innovations, from solid-state batteries offering safer and more efficient energy storage to sodium-ion batteries that address concerns about resource scarcity."
EFFECT ON GRID
May 2026 – RMI: Understanding the Grid Impacts of Electric Vehicle Adoption
"Electric utilities typically plan years in advance to decide what to build and where to invest. To do this, they need to answer the deceptively simple question: how much electricity will customers use? The process of answering that question, known as load forecasting, underpins everything from power plant investments to local grid upgrades. As more electric vehicles take to US streets and charge unevenly across the grid, improving how we forecast electricity demand, specifically demand from electric vehicles (EVs), is becoming essential to keeping costs down and maintaining reliability."
April 2026 – Michigan Engineering (University of Michigan): Meeting EV electricity demand: upgrade grid first, then add V2G chargers
"Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) chargers enable utilities to use EVs like a mobile battery network, but when and where they are deployed will determine how cost-effective they are."
"Key takeaways
• Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) chargers enable electric vehicles to behave as a battery network, potentially helping to level out electricity demand throughout the day.
• Since this cannot completely offset the increased demands on the grid from EV adoption, the grid should be upgraded first, with V2G charging added later.
• The analysis by a team from the National University of Singapore, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and University of Michigan Engineering calls for grid upgrades targeting long-term demand expectations to reduce the total costs."
Dec. 2025 – evconnect: What Is Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Technology and How Does It Work?
"According to a study by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the growing demand from plug-in electric vehicles and many other technologies that require electricity could increase the load on our power grids by up to 38% by 2050. Power companies and government agencies are working hard to meet this demand, but it’s a challenging task. But what if electric vehicles can be part of the solution to this problem? That’s exactly the idea behind vehicle-to-grid technology, which is an important component of our transition to a fully electric transportation sector."
MINING FOR METALS
Jan. 2026 – Drive Smart Tools: Minerals Mined for Electric Car Batteries: A Comprehensive Overview
"The shift to electric vehicles (EVs) hinges on the supply chain for battery materials. This article explains the key minerals mined for EV batteries, their roles in battery chemistry, global supply dynamics, and considerations for sustainability and ethics. Understanding these minerals helps illuminate how battery performance, cost, and environmental impact are shaped from mine to vehicle."
Dec. 2025 – The Science Times: Why Lithium-Ion Batteries Depend on Rare Earth Minerals for EV Battery Production
"Lithium-ion batteries are the cornerstone of modern electric vehicles, powering long-range EVs with packs often exceeding 60kWh and enabling 300+ mile driving ranges. Core EV minerals—lithium, nickel, and cobalt—make up more than 50kg per average pack, delivering the voltage, capacity, and stability needed for consistent performance. However, the battery supply chain is highly concentrated geographically, exposing automakers to risks from political instability, labor issues, and raw material shortages."
EV vs HYBRID vs GAS
Oct. 2022 – Climate Portal, MIT: Are electric vehicles definitely better for the climate than gas-powered cars?
“Although many fully electric vehicles (EVs) carry 'zero emissions' badges, this claim is not quite true. Battery-electric cars may not emit greenhouse gases from their tailpipes, but some emissions are created in the process of building and charging the vehicles. Nevertheless, says Sergey Paltsev, Deputy Director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, electric vehicles are clearly a lower-emissions option than cars with internal combustion engines. Over the course of their driving lifetimes, EVs will create fewer carbon emissions than gasoline-burning cars under nearly any conditions.”
EV SOURCES OF POWER
Sept. 2023 – Yale Climate Connections: Electric vehicles reduce carbon pollution in all U.S. states
“…do EVs really lower carbon emissions, even when the electricity feeding the car comes from heavily polluting sources? (Looking at you, West Virginia*.) The answer – thankfully – is a resounding yes. Compared to gasoline-powered vehicles, electric cars emit substantially less carbon dioxide pollution, no matter which form of energy is used to recharge them.”
*”Even an EV charged on West Virginia’s coal-dominated grid will still reduce carbon dioxide pollution by around 30%.”
EV vs GAS VEHICLE SAFETY & FIRES
March 2026 – NRMA (Austrailia): Understanding electric vehicle fires: A comprehensive guide
"Any new technology can come with concerning risks and challenges. However, you’ll be glad to know that EV battery fires are very rare.
• Electric vehicle fires due to EV batteries are far less common than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle fires.
• A report from EV FireSafe (a body funded by the Australian Department of Defence to research EV battery fires) positively identified 772 high-voltage battery fires worldwide as of October 2025.
• With an estimated 78 million plug-in electric vehicles on the road globally, this figure represents just one in 100,000 of them suffering a fire."
Sept. 2025 – IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety): IIHS unveils new ratings for seven electric vehicles
"Five out of seven electric vehicles recently tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety boast award-worthy performance in a key crash test, while two others struggle with protection for back seat passengers."