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In yet another sign of life for EV sales in the US, a startup has emerged from stealth mode to rev up a new battery recycling facility in Georgia, helping to alleviate concerns over a domestic lithium supply bottleneck. To make matters even more interesting, the company — R3 Lithium — is occupying a facility formerly occupied by Ascend Elements, which filed for bankruptcy just a few months ago.
What Lithium Shortage?
The rise of electric vehicles has raised concerns that a shortage of lithium will create an unforgiving bottleneck, crimping the momentum of the electrification movement. That concern has failed to materialize here in the US, where EV sales tanked after US President Donald Trump’s “OBBA” tax bill eliminated a key federal tax credit for EVs.
Globally, though, auto industry analysts have anticipated that recycling used EV batteries will help strengthen the lithium supply chain, all the more so once EVs begin capturing the lion’s share of global auto sales and their spent batteries roll into the recycling market at scale.
