If Flanders cleverly anticipates what will soon have to happen with pensionable batteries for electric cars and solar panels, this could mean a significant economic boost. According to a study by the Circular Economy Support Center, the conversion of batteries for electric cars into home batteries can yield the Flemish economy up to six times more by 2030 than just recycling them.
The growth of the electric car market is also driving up the demand for lithium and cobalt for batteries. It is expected that the demand for such materials will continue to increase in the coming decades. That is why it is necessary and useful to use the materials that are already available in Flanders in a smart way. Researchers from the Circular Economy Research Center have now developed a number of future scenarios for batteries of electric vehicles and for solar panels. For example, batteries for electric cars can be converted into home batteries, but then conversion factories are needed.
Researchers from VITO have calculated that such a conversion industry in Flanders could generate four billion euros of extra economic value by 2030 compared to a scenario in which batteries are only recycled. Many solar panels will also be ‘retiring’ in the next 20 years. There are no real conversion solutions for solar panels as with batteries, but it is worthwhile to recycle and reuse the materials. For example, new glass can be made from the glass, provided that the glass in the solar panels is very clean.
Impure glass can then serve as a replacement for sand in construction. Research has shown that recycling is best done in a rational and fine-meshed manner. Saving the silicon in particular, for example, will result in environmental gains. There is also silver in solar panels. It would be a shame to accidentally let it disappear under our roads due to excessive recycling, is the reasoning. According to ministers Hilde Crevits (Innovation) and Zuhal Demir (Environment), Flanders is already far in the field of recycling and Flanders does not intend to miss the circular boat.
‘Flanders already has the necessary circular assets to join the global competition, which will benefit both our economy and the environment,’ says Minister Crevits. ‘Today, Flanders is already one of the European star players in the circular economy. By looking ahead and already thinking about new applications and reuse of materials from today’s important energy sources, we will also be less dependent on the import of those materials from abroad in the future’, adds Minister Demir.
The growth of the electric car market is also driving up the demand for lithium and cobalt for batteries. It is expected that the demand for such materials will continue to increase in the coming decades. That is why it is necessary and useful to use the materials that are already available in Flanders in a smart way. Researchers from the Circular Economy Research Center have now developed a number of future scenarios for batteries of electric vehicles and for solar panels. For example, batteries for electric cars can be converted into home batteries, but then conversion factories are needed. Researchers from VITO have calculated that such a conversion industry in Flanders could generate four billion euros of extra economic value by 2030 compared to a scenario in which batteries are only recycled. Many solar panels will also be ‘retiring’ in the next 20 years. There are no real conversion solutions for solar panels as with batteries, but it is worthwhile to recycle and reuse the materials. For example, new glass can be made from the glass, provided that the glass in the solar panels is very clean. Impure glass can then serve as a replacement for sand in construction. Research has shown that recycling is best done in a rational and fine-meshed manner. Saving the silicon in particular, for example, will result in environmental gains. There is also silver in solar panels. It would be a shame to accidentally let it disappear under our roads due to excessive recycling, is the reasoning. According to ministers Hilde Crevits (Innovation) and Zuhal Demir (Environment), Flanders is already far in the field of recycling and Flanders does not intend to miss the circular boat. ‘Flanders already has the necessary circular assets to join the global competition, which will benefit both our economy and the environment,’ says Minister Crevits. ‘Today, Flanders is already one of the European star players in the circular economy. By looking ahead and already thinking about new applications and reuse of materials from today’s important energy sources, we will also be less dependent on the import of those materials from abroad in the future’, adds Minister Demir.
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