AFTER SECURING an adjournment debate on the recycling of lithium batteries, the kind found in electric vehicles, Shadow Industrial Strategy Minister Chi Onwurah is emphasising the opportunities rather than the challenges that this will bring.
Onwurah said: “Electric vehicle registrations are expected to rise to rise 77.7% in 2020, the batteries in them only last for 8 years.
“We currently send our old batteries to Europe, however, the long distances and costs involved in this mean that as the market grows this will not be effective.
“The ReLib project and research conducted by Newcastle University highlights that Tyneside would be a perfect place for both a recycling factory and safety training hub. This would bring the high skill, high paid employment that the region desperately needs.
“If the Prime Minister intends to honour his commitment to ending new internal combustion engine cars by 2035 then we will need 5 new gigafactories, and given the existing expertise in the Northeast we should be front of the queue.”
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