DOE Announces $37 Million to Reduce EV Battery Recycling Costs

Today, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced $37 million in funding to reduce costs associated with recycling electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and administered by DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office, this funding supports the goal for EVs to make up half of all new light-duty vehicle sales by 2030 as part of the effort to reach a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.

This funding opportunity is the second phase of $200 million in total provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for electric drive vehicle battery recycling and second life applications. In the first phase, DOE awarded $74 million to 10 projects to advance technologies and processes for EV battery recycling and reuse. This second phase will reduce the costs associated with transporting, dismantling, and preprocessing end-of-life electric drive vehicle batteries for recycling; and recycling of plastic and polymer electric drive battery accessory components.

Funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act supports research, development, and demonstration of second-life applications for batteries once used to power EVs, as well as new technologies and processes for recycling and reclaiming critical materials back into the battery supply chain. With the demand for EVs and stationary storage projected to increase the size of the lithium battery market by five- to ten-fold by the end of the decade, it is essential that the United States invests in the capacity to accelerate the development of a resilient supply chain for high-capacity batteries, including non-lithium batteries.

Concept papers are due on February 7, 2024, and full applications are due April 19, 2024.

Read the full funding opportunity and learn more about DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.