Business secretary launches battery recycling consultation

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said he will launch a consultation on the recycling of batteries for electric vehicles.

The announcement comes as the environmental audit committee publishes the government’s response to its letter on the battery electric vehicles supply chain.

The committee’s initial letter to the government raised concerns over the UK’s absence of recycling facilities for lithium-ion batteries.

It also highlighted the UK’s opportunity to match or exceed the provisions laid out by the EU’s batteries regulation.

The government is currently considering these draft EU regulations, alongside the existing regulations retained in UK law after Brexit.

The committee also raised the issue of the availability of critical minerals, with attention given to lithium in Cornwall.

The government explained that it is currently considering how it can continue to deliver raw materials and critical minerals and that a senior cross-government group is overseeing this work.

Philip Dunne MP the chair of the environmental audit committee said:

“It is welcome news that the Government is acting on our Committee’s recommendations to boost the supply chain for battery electric vehicles. As we move from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles, we must adopt a circular economy for the batteries to minimise waste of precious metals and to be mindful of our carbon footprint. I am pleased that there will shortly be a consultation on this, to which our Committee plans to contribute.”