As the electric vehicle revolution continues to grow in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is taking a major step toward ensuring that this transition is as sustainable as it can be.
TechNave reported that the country's natural resources and environmental sustainability minister, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, recently announced plans to introduce an extended producer responsibility policy that will require EV manufacturers to take care of their EV batteries once they're spent.
"If you manufacture EVs, you will also be responsible for the batteries at the end of their lifespan," he said in an interview.
EVs are crucial to reducing planet-warming pollution affecting communities everywhere, from increased extreme weather events such as heat waves and intense storms to food insecurity.
To keep the industry profitable, battery recycling is a crucial component of the EV revolution. But battery recycling methods and infrastructure are still being developed.
By 2050, Malaysia could be sitting on hundreds of thousands of depleted EV batteries, with some estimates putting the number just under 900,000.
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Without proper disposal and recycling infrastructure, this waste could pose serious environmental and public health risks. But under the country's proposed EPR scheme, manufacturers would be tasked with recovering and recycling batteries, helping reduce toxic waste and recirculate critical minerals.
The government is also exploring grants, tax breaks, and incentives for companies that invest in recycling technology or use recycled materials. Officials and advocates are pushing for domestic recycling facilities and an "EV battery passport" system to track each battery's lifecycle.
That's good news for the environment and the growing number of EV drivers concerned about what happens when a lithium-ion battery reaches the end of the road.
Around the world, governments are stepping up with proactive policies to manage clean energy transitions. Similar battery policies have already been implemented in the European Union, the U.S., China, and Japan. So whether you own an EV or have been considering making your next car an EV, it's good news that battery recycling is a top priority.
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They're not efficient enough ⚡ "The current lithium-ion battery recycling market is still in a very early industrial stage," said Xiaochu Wei, a battery recycling researcher at Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, to the BBC.
"Malaysia is taking significant steps toward establishing a sustainable ecosystem for handling end-of-life electric and hybrid vehicle batteries," said Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute CEO Azrul Reza Aziz to Malay Mail.
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