Electric Vehicles: A Delayed Disposal Problem for Central Asian Countries

Electric Vehicles: A Delayed Disposal Problem for Central Asian Countries

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Experts monitoring the Central Asian car market remember 2023 as the year of the electric vehicle boom. Authorities encouraging the import of electric cars emphasize that this type of transport will improve the environmental situation. However, can electric cars be called unconditionally clean transport from an environmental standpoint?

Conditionally “Green”

“The more electric cars there are, the more electricity will need to be generated for them. Electricity is generated by thermal power plants that use coal. And that is where we encounter non-environmental friendliness,” says Alexey Alekseev, editor-in-chief of “Za Rulem” magazine in Kazakhstan.

Indeed, according to the energy agency Ember, in 2022-2023, 87% of electricity in Kazakhstan was generated from fossil fuels, and even more in Uzbekistan—97%. In Turkmenistan, hydrocarbons (gas) dominate power generation—almost 100%. The power sector in Tajikistan (90%) and Kyrgyzstan (86%) depends on hydroelectric plants, which can also only be conditionally called environmentally friendly. Their main danger is reservoirs, which drastically alter the river biosphere.

The batteries that power modern electric cars are lithium-ion batteries with liquid electrolytes. Inside, there is an anode and a cathode. Batteries are distinguished by the cathode, or rather by the material from which it is made. It can be nickel, manganese, cobalt or iron-phosphate.
“When these elements are leached from the ground, a lot of energy is used. Furthermore, to generate energy, for example, in China, where the most of the world’s electric vehicle are produced, they use coal, that is, not “green” technologies Therefore, to assess environmental friendliness, we need to look at how much energy was spent on its production and what kind of energy it was (what it was generated from),” explains Sanjar Taizhan, an engineer and founder of the startup TaiSan, which develops innovative sodium-ion batteries.
Batteries also need high-quality metals. In China, they are imported from Africa, Australia, and Canada, and transportation, as we know, leaves a carbon footprint. Chemical processes are used for metal processing and directly for battery production. The batteries are shipped from China to American and European markets, once again leaving a carbon footprint.

When Will the “Trouble” Arrive?

Mikhail Kventis, an expert in the field electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, notes that a battery lasts 5-7 years. Therefore, Kazakhstan, where the growth in the number of electric cars peaked in 2022-2023, may face disposal issues no earlier than 2030. Thus, other countries in the region can forecast disposal problems by adding 5-7 years to the year when electric car purchases peaked or will peak.

Sanjar Taizhan points out that the average lifespan of a battery depends on how it was used.

“How quickly it was charged, how often it accelerated (acceleration puts stress on the battery and degrades it), at what temperature, and in what climate the electric car was used,” – Taizhan lists the factors affecting battery life. “But in general, it can be said that the average lifespan is eight years.”
Both experts assured that after this period, the battery does not “die,” it can still be used, but it will need to be charged more often.
“Even the earliest Teslas, which are now over 10 years old, have not yet required mass battery replacement,” says Mikhail Kventis.

Photo: Ilya Kim

Moreover, Kwentis says that a battery can be “repacked” to extend its life: “Give it an ‘overhaul’ by replacing only the ‘worn out’ elements.”

Kventis does not foresee that Kazakhstan will face a situation where there will be piles of used batteries on every corner, although they may contribute negatively to the environmental situation. It is likely that other countries in the region will follow Kazakhstan’s example since the electric car market is developing similarly across Central Asia.

Sanjar Taizhan also does not foresee an “apocalypse” with electric batteries in the near future, as Central Asian countries mainly use internal combustion engine vehicles.

“Even for Europe and America, this problem is not yet urgent – it will emerge there in about five years,” predicts Sanjar Taizhan.
Kazakhstan
Uncertain
Future
Kyrgyzstan
Will Think about
Recycling Later
Tajikistan
Vague
Plans
Uzbekistan
Disposal Issues
Not Yet Addressed

Rebuilding Batteries

Mikhail Kventis highlighted terminology: “Battery disposal means collecting, storing, reusing (where possible), and transporting batteries for recycling. The actual use of batteries as secondary raw materials to obtain materials is recycling.”

According to Sanjar Taizhan, recycling involves disassembling the battery into components. The sorted components are put into crushers, resulting in a powder. Each metal (in powder form) is packaged separately – lithium separately, cobalt separately, and so on. This powder is then reused in battery production.

“Up to 98% of the components return to production,” confirms Alexey Alekseev. “Nothing to fear about; everything has already been invented.”
Sanjar Taizhan says that investments in this field are already underway, so technologies will only improve: “The best recycling will be in China because that is where the main electric vehicle market is.”

Taizhan currently sees the energy-intensive nature of the recycling process as one of the challenges.

“Battery production is expensive – a battery factory costs $30 million per gigawatt-hour, and recycling will be even more expensive. However, no one has yet provided exact cost data for these factories – I looked at open sources,” says Sanjar Taizhan.
Mikhail Kventis agrees: “Building a recycling plant is expensive. Recycling lithium-ion batteries is more about chemistry and metallurgy than just ‘cutting and tearing apart.

Building a plant in each country separately is also impractical because none of the Central Asian republics has the volume of batteries that would make recycling economically viable.

“Even if you add car batteries to batteries from computers, power tools, and mobile phones, which use the same technologies and chemistry as electric vehicle batteries,” says the expert, referring to the situation in Kazakhstan.
Nevertheless, almost all new lithium-ion battery recycling plants face a shortage of raw materials. Kwentis reports that only 3% of batteries worldwide were recycled 2023 from the total volume of decommissioned (used) electric vehicle batteries.
“The Chinese plant Huayou Cobalt, which can process 65,000 tons of batteries per year, was only able to gather 10,000 tons in 2019,” Mikhail Kventis cites as an example. “Bloomberg claims that the battery recycling industry in the US experienced a ‘false start’ – recycling capacities have already been built, but there is no raw material to load them.”
Therefore, the expert suggests organizing the proper collection, sorting, and storage of lithium-ion batteries, as well as their disposal and transportation to other countries for recycling.
“In 2019, 97,000 tons of lithium-ion batteries were sent for recycling worldwide (for comparison: 1.5 million tons of lead batteries were collected for disposal in Europe alone in 2019, according to Eurostat). Of these, 67,000 tons were sent for recycling in China and 18,000 tons in South Korea. In 2021, China reported 188,000 tons,” Mikhail Kventis shares the figures.
Several recycling enterprises operate in Europe. The most famous are NorthVolt in Sweden, EcoBat in England, Endesa in Spain, and a subsidiary of the Korean SungEel in Hungary. “By 2025, the total capacity of European recycling enterprises could exceed 400,000 tons per year,” says Kwentis.

China is the leader in recycling, with about 70% of batteries being recycled. “The government сlosely monitors battery manufacturers to ensure that they themselves are involved in recycling,” Kventis explains. “In Europe and the US, this figure does not exceed 5%.”

Used lithium-ion batteries are hazardous waste, especially when accumulated in large quantities in one place, and must be handled accordingly.

“Sending batteries for disposal, especially to another country, is not a spontaneous process; it should be resolved at the intergovernmental level,” Kwentis emphasizes and suggests considering the reverse process – building a lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Kazakhstan: “This could be profitable if its load is ensured, with a constant flow of used batteries from China and neighboring Central Asian countries.”
However, Mikhail Kventis predicts that such a plant will likely be built in Uzbekistan: “Their processes are faster. And they already have more electric cars than Kazakhstan.”

Sanjar Taizhan suggests shifting focus: “We need to start battery production now rather than thinking about their disposal.”

Who should pay the bill?

“Definitely the state!” – answered Mikhail Kventis to the question of who should pay for the electric batteries disposal.

He explained that the responsibility for organizing disposal and overseeing the process is a matter of environmental protection and such issues are never resolved at the level of private individuals anywhere.

“The state already collects taxes and fees from car buyers, car owners, and car businesses – from these fees, the budget for creating a safe, clean environment should be formed,” he made another argument.
On the contrary, Alexey Alexeev believes that the responsibility should lie with the electric car owner.
“We will have companies that will either ship batteries to China or disassemble them for further processing. The owner should receive compensation for the returned battery. Although there are still shipping costs… But, perhaps the company dismantling the battery will profit on it and pay for the shipping. It is still unclear, as it is not worked out yet,” Alexeev says.
Mikhail Kventis does not doubt that the disposal process can become profitable. But he points out the main condition: “If favorable conditions are created for private individuals. Not to prohibit and punish but to help and motivate. Not only with subsidies but also by creating favorable conditions and removing obstacles. Not like what happened with the ‘Extended Producer Responsibility’ for car disposal (infamously associated with the daughter of Kazakhstan’s first president Nursultan Nazarbayev – Ed.).”

In Kazakhstan, the functions of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) operator have shifted from a private company to the state-owned JSC “Zhasyl Damu.” It collects and distributes money from the recycling fee among recyclers.

In response to CABAR.asia’s inquiry, JSC “Zhasyl Damu” stated that individuals and legal entities producing or importing certain goods into Kazakhstan (including lithium-ion batteries) bear extended producer responsibilities.
“In accordance with the ‘polluter pays principle,” the generator of waste, current and previous owners, are responsible for ensuring compliance with environmental waste management requirements until the waste is transferred to the possession of entities engaged in waste recovery or disposal operations. Waste owners are also obligated to manage waste safely on their own or ensure safe waste management through transfer to waste management entities,” the official response stated.
In other words, the state believes that the owner of the electric car should pay for the disposal of battery accumulators.
https://longreads.cabar.asia/electrocars-en
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