The future of energy starts with rebuilding the battery | Hard Reset

Millions of tons of batteries are headed to landfills. Here’s the plan to save them.
Subscribe to Freethink on KZbin ► freeth.ink/youtube-subscribe
Up Next ► How mirrors could power the planet... and prevent wars • How mirrors could powe...
Batteries don't last forever, including rechargeable ones. When batteries finally die, they need to be recycled. However, because so many different technologies rely on them, we currently need to recycle about 500,000 tons of batteries every year.
When batteries are recycled, they are shredded and melted - and literally turned back into their constituent atomic elements. The batteries are then rebuilt, essentially from scratch.
A company called ReCell is trying to improve this process with a method called "direct recycling," which maintains the structural integrity of a part of the battery called the cathode. This should make battery recycling more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
Watch on Freethink.com ► www.freethink.com/series/hard...
◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠
Read more of our stories on battery recycling:
► Will battery recycling be ready when all these new EV batteries die?
www.freethink.com/environment...
► Alternative batteries are solving the biggest problem in renewable energy
www.freethink.com/environment...
► Batteries of the future could be made from trees
www.freethink.com/environment...
◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡
Watch our original series:
► Hard Reset: freeth.ink/youtube-hard-reset
► Just Might Work: freeth.ink/youtube-just-might...
► Challengers: freeth.ink/youtube-challengers
◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠
About Freethink
No politics, no gossip, no cynics. At Freethink, we believe the daily news should inspire people to build a better world. While most media is fueled by toxic politics and negativity, we focus on solutions: the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most ground breaking technology shaping our future.
◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡◡
Enjoy Freethink on your favorite platforms:
► Daily editorial features: www.freethink.com​
► Solutions-based stories, straight to your inbox: www.freethink.com/subscribe
► Facebook: / freethinkmedia​
► Instagram: / freethink​
► Twitter: / freethinkmedia​
► Join the Freethink forum: / freethinkforum

[@freethink]

How do you think we'll use batteries in the future?

[@oooboo3249]

come on now man coldfusion do something Innovative come on putting nuclear devices in cars I've seen real UFOs the triangles and orbs if they're not man-made I don't know what they are but I've seen them personally so if they're man-made go get that technology

[@oooboo3249]

come on man use quantum physics as energy source Dr Michio Kaku have said that we need to be a type 1 civilization or type 0 when I'm going to type 0 civilization if we're sitting here dickin around with recycling batteries

[@oooboo3249]

if you really care about the people in the environment why don't you go after black rock that has Technologies and information about making new technology why you have these corporations holding multibillion-dollar ideas for their selves for their gains and their profit do you really want a One World Government One World System a new world order or do you want to be free decentralised true Freedom true Innovation comes from being free decentralized we'll never be free if we are controlled by dictators

[@oooboo3249]

if you're for the environment why you're not pushing cell phone manufacturers to have replaceable batteries because then that would be less waste and less electronics in precious metal being in landfills oh because of greed and profit consumerism why don't we go back the way we used to do things how America used to make products that last like in the back of the day oh that means you can't use third world countries to make your products

[@oooboo3249]

why is all the governments and corporations putting back doors and hardware and software if we're going to make a new Society in a bear and Farah Society we wouldn't have backdoors in systems of software so the governments and corporations can spy on people the Patriot Act was so patriotic to spy on the American people when the Constitution says governments cannot spy on the people and then you have corporations when they get so big the considering Monopoly and should be broken up why hasn't the corporations been broken up because a lobbyist so that means corporations are governments and governments are corporations and return that's whose control in the population is Corporation / government's last banking cartel they should be broken up but they're not and that makes you a phony and a fraud because you do not care about society and people

[@Frenchiezy]

Honestly, thinking of Earth as one gaint spaceship that we all share is such a beautiful perspective

[@glennr9913]

We need a slogan reminding folks that, which can be printed on T-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs, etc. It is such a powerful & beautiful perspective.

[@ninojanjeremygo463]

Earth is flat. I mean Earth is a spaceship, ... because it's flat! Get it?

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

Its the only perspective, because its true.

[@The_Cyber_System]

The order of operations is reduce, reuse, recycle, but we do need the infrastructure to support all three. We've been keeping up on the news with battery recycling for a while and great to see a video from freethink's perspective. Also, we do live on a real real big spaceship, but don't forget that it's also very fragile, a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam

[@tomern91]

We already do this in Norway, use our EVs to provide electricity to the grid. Not a standard solution, but it's growing 👌

[@kelvinpraises]

I love Freethink, glad the channel's growing!

[@chelsey2511]

Wow, so incredible. I love every update to this channel. It's so heartwarming, encouraging and inspiring.

[@karimkerachni3939]

Couldn’t agree more

[@chelsey2511]

@@karimkerachni3939 This channel deserves way more views than it gets. I'm going to be sure to share it around. Simply incredible. I hope one day my own passion project will be featured here.

[@freethink]

Aww! Really appreciate it, thanks so much for saying so.

[@freethink]

If you like, you are both welcome to fill out our form and we'll send you some free stuff! forms.gle/Dw5Nn65pTpuuQqKN9

[@chelsey2511]

@@freethink Aww thank you! I certainly will. :)

[@obes8]

So many options out there for Batteries im excited

[@Ashallmusica]

I'm currently convinced this time I'm living in, is the era of breakthrough's, where one solution gets Innovated then another one comes related to it. Like Tesla : An EV then this ReCell which is kinda related to Tesla as a Battery running vehicle.

[@torkgems]

I love binging this channel!!! ❤

[@Matt-bp5vy]

Damn never thought I'd see good informative video about batteries that is also funny. Whoever writes jokes - great job! I already have like 15 tech subscriptions. I didn't think I would ever need another one but I've just subscribed to this channel If this is not a great way to make yourself stand out around thousands of other channels, I don't know what it is. PS: Just please make sure you don't have any pseudoscience, over clickbaity stuff (or too many non related movie clips added) on this channel. Not sure why but at first this was my first association when I saw this channel. I guess I was wrong though.

[@freethink]

Thanks so much! Shared your kind words with the team!

[@freethink]

And we'd be happy to send you some free stuff and get your feedback if you like! forms.gle/Dw5Nn65pTpuuQqKN9

[@JigilJigil]

Great video, it deserves far more viewers.

[@karimkerachni3939]

This channel is so unbelievably underrated I can’t believe it’s not hit 10 million subscribers

[@Ashallmusica]

It will i just found it in my feed,

[@sssukri]

Great episode! Enjoyed it.

[@13thravenpurple94]

Great work 🥳 Thank you 💜

[@bidav2114]

2:07 Jeff doesn't joke, especially not about battery😂😂

[@bidav2114]

6:03 oh dear

[@bidav2114]

7:16 Jeff is an economist yo😂 I love Jeff😂

[@TuralkT]

5:13 "If I was to design a battery, the first thing I would do is make them more easy to dissassemble" 7:48 "A future with a recycle friendly battery..." Proceeds to show batteries sealed into the floor of an electric car.. Sealing batteries into the floor of cars (Tesla) makes fixing those cars very difficult.. Stop making throwaway cars! make FIXABLE vehicles with easily replaceable battery modules! And while we're on recycling, remember the three r's, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.. in that order. Alot of dead battery packs in drills, old laptops , almost anything with a battery now sometimes has some cells inside that are healthy and can be reused. Recycle should be the last course of action.

[@monad_tcp]

" Stop making throwaway cars " Its not that they make throwaway cars, its that the car is the battery. The other parts are less than 20% of the value and they are totally fixable. First you need to be able to make a car that's actually usable, then you can think about recycling. Ironically they are not making the batteries replaceable to save in weight. I think the traditional method of just melting everything at industrial scale, then separating the different kinds of metals with acid is good enough. We recycle 85% of the aluminum that way, and the other 25% isn't recycled because its entering new for even more expansion. Lets go to the basics, we want to recycle to get back the metals, because that's the limited resource, its not the energy, so who cares if we lose energy, energy can be generated totally from methods that don't make much green-house gases. This video failed to convince me of their method. Another alternative is just don't do anything, when we run out of raw metals, we can then literally mine landfills. And when we run out of those we to go space !

[@monad_tcp]

I think that mining for scrap metal out of waste is what's going to happen, because that's what happened to aluminium. First, raw metals are ultra cheap, then we start running out of raw production, then it comes a time when recovering them from the scrap becomes economically viable, that's when you get most of metal being recycled. Sure making batteries to be easy to be disassembled would help, but I don't think that solves the problem, batteries are nasty, when they get bad its because the elements already mixed, so perhaps there's no point in ever trying that. Gold is always 100% recycled, wonder why... oh, mining for new gold is super expensive because its rare. Really, we don't have a big of a problem, our only problem is getting more electrical energy for cheap and without releasing too much green-house gases. Perhaps the biggest problem of all is that we don't even have enough lithium to even have the entirety of all our vehicles electric. So recycling isn't going to help decrease the need for raw mining in any way, we need more raw resources after all, they need to first exist to be recycled. The demand is so high that it will probably consume all recycled metals (specially cobalt) and still ask for more to be mined. "Reduce, Reuse" is bullshit, reduce ? we need to produce 1000 times more than what we have, if we are to get rid of internal combustion.

[@NicholasDunbar]

Completing design goals. Solving range anxiety vs lowering the cost of materials. Which goal takes precedence?

[@abhisoni8937]

How do they recycle?? That was an important part of the process that @Freethink didn't seem to include in the video

[@dreamingacacia]

I don't have background in this area so I'll just leave with my own hypothesis. Similar to how solar cells work, what about using something that renewable from the inside and have a modular architecture to make it so you can change parts which are broken and the recycle process will be for each parts instead of dissolve everything except the core? I'm aware that solar cells need proton to create fission reactions in order to create transfering energy which in turn converted into the usable energy. Parts will get decay as time goes by no matter how great the materials are, so you can use something that safe and durable enough but also disposable or could be recycle. Something that will never run out would be the mechanism itself that producing energy. I mean the battery is the part that keep usable energy right? You can just focus on salvageability so that you get highest materials back at the lowest cost possible(using renewable solutions to decompost things instead of burning the case to get the seed). This reminded me of the illuminate stars decoration that you would put at the ceiling in your bedroom. How does it glow after you turn off the light? If we can produce the hybrid generator that bouncing from different type of energy to fill the system and can run forever while creating the excess energy that we can use that specific type to create the usable energy. So we basically got free energy forever....well until the parts broken and we have to change them some later time. That's why focusing on modular architecture would become the most powerful thing to create the foundation for future researches. I'm aware that there are some models that have modular architecture, but they're not hybrid generator or renewable battery.

[@YourCapybaraAmigo_17yrsago]

Solar-powered cars!

[@oscargrima5332]

The last sentence was just perfect

[@carissa8283i]

Thanks for the video. I hope your enjoying your time in my universe. :)

[@2mo2time]

We have been running around in circles about this battery recycling and recycling and repurposeing. We are trying to reset the wrold with little to no thought or idea on how to maintain the reset. Its like trying to help an adict. With no future plan

[@incognitotorpedo42]

You don't know what you're talking about. No one is "running around in circles". There are multiple Li-ion recycling companies that have already developed recycling technology and are now building gigafactories. Just because you don't know what's going on in the recycling world, don't claim that nobody knows.

[@CitiesForTheFuture2030]

Tx for an awesome video - loved it! The EU is good at recycling most things (mostly) because policies that are in place that require it. So perhaps the title of this video should be something like (just to nitpick): The future of energy starts with the policies that require we think again about how we make & recycle batteries ... hmmm, not as catchy perhaps 🤔 Keep these fantastc videos coming that make us rethink, & reset, our world for the better.

[@RonakDhakan]

Present dumping grounds will be future mines full of various resources.

[@BadyTheProgram]

My phone just warned me about low power level, while I watched this video... What a considence.

[@gmeast]

ReCell ... great name!

[@scottm2553]

Why hasn't this channel blown up yet?

[@incognitotorpedo42]

Because the information is not that accurate and the announcer sounds fake? Just a thought.

[@scottm2553]

@@incognitotorpedo42 Really, what issues with accuracy did you find?

[@kineticstar]

ZE GOGGLES! ZHEY DO NOTHZING!

[@erwinzer0]

Hmm science give me hope

[@Misterkill800]

People dont realize how much it takes to build a battery and how it is not really recyclable. Specially right now that everyone seems to be pushing to buy eclectic cars. I only know of a very few small companies that do it and the government limits them on everything.

[@tormunnvii3317]

Market incentives are the problem here.

[@bigcazza5260]

lmfao u should see the amount of dead normal car batteries i have

[@LimitedWard]

If only we had a form of transportation that could transport more people more efficiently that didn't require so much battery waste. Heck we could have it run on metal guide rails to reduce friction!

[@toddjensen8806]

Everything about how this video was made is brilliant

[@freethink]

Thanks so much, really appreciate it!

[@toddjensen8806]

@@freethink I sincerely appreciate the continued work of this channel, it’s by far in the top 1% of what’s on KZbin

[@smoothvoodoo]

You should get 10cent for each small batterie you recycle and 50cent for a bigger one and so on. Just like Norway does with its used plastic bottles.

[@chrisbarry9345]

Real issue is that we need an easier and less polluting to mine mineral to replace lithium

[@bored833]

The best channel on youtube! Right now I spend more than I get paid, but… The day I get a salary bump - you got a new patreon!

[@wovasteengova]

Wait they have a patreon?

[@freethink]

Wait, we have a patreon?

[@freethink]

(We don't, but appreciate the thought and will let you know if we get one! 🙂)

[@wovasteengova]

@@freethink 🤣🤣

[@NicholasDunbar]

It makes no sense for ownership of production and ownership of the resulting waste stream to be separate.

[@qolspony]

They need to be systems in place where you get something for returning these batteries. Battery Plus charges a core charge as an incentive for returning agm and golf cart batteries. But these batteries are larger than car batteries. So they needs to be something for 18650 or similar batteries.

[@PacoOtis]

Bravo! Well done! Carry on and the best of luck!

[@dotails]

Nice humor.

[@livewellwitheds6885]

this is one of my favorite channels

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

The rapid pressure to move into electric cars is beyond stupid. The grid is already overstressed, materials to make batteries are scarce and growing in cost, and WILL be gone before a fraction of politically motivated false need is met. Recycling materials is absolutely essential, and to do so economically is beyond essential. Good luck with this.

[@landaku2571]

One way to recycle them woule simply to use them longer. I am disassembling "defunct" old laptop batteries at the moment. And at least half of them are "ok" and only disbalanced in the pack and the electronics cannot compensate. They could be repurposed or repaired.

[@nerdlingeeksly5192]

THE GOGGLES, THEY DO NOTHING!!!

[@richardfiennes3616]

Unfortunately battery companies are just NOT interested in recycling their products - call them lazy. So we need a global mandate to insist they do the right thing. Jaguar / Land Rover have only recently woken up to the marketing benefits of completely restoring and ameliorating some of their classics like E' types, Series 1 LR's etc.

[@incognitotorpedo42]

Not sure where you get that claim. Battery companies need materials to build batteries with, and recycling is an economical source of battery metals. Car companies are CERTAINLY interested in recycling batteries.

[@herzogsbuick]

Here's a battery adjacent joke: Why couldn't the man drive an EV? Because his driver's license wasn't.../current/

[@kunjshah6595]

its 1400th like from me👍

[@skpjoecoursegold366]

Spaceship Earth.

[@johnsamsungs7570]

Second life for most EV batteries. Use bacteria to seperate the battery matterial. Dumping anything is a waste it is resource.

[@cristafir]

The real solution is in the many companies that are finding better and more recyclable materials to make batteries. The current Lithium forever is doomed....but it's the dominant battery all because of money needed to fund better batteries. But it's happening....have followed a number of very innovative alternatives to lithium based tech. And all of them out perform the current technology....hmmmm

[@YourCapybaraAmigo_17yrsago]

Solar-powered cars? Why not??? Won't need recharging stations with those. Anything to increase reusablility of any spent battery components should of course be maximized.

[@dariusdareme]

Such quality production!

[@Strange-Viking]

Not enough battery material to recycle, then inport back the exported batteries that all went to india

[@somerandomfella]

Nice new production style 😎👌

[@marco8060]

who is not this bird

[@williamsquires9973]

Building incentives to recycle

[@daphneraven9439]

Say what you like, but as long as people will be recharging those quote environmentally friendly quote green and quote batteries from electricity produced by burning coal, we're just spending our wheels. All we're doing is encouraging people to spend their savings on vehicles that are dependent on fossil fuels in a different way; at a time when too many Americans are dealing with brownouts and blackouts on a regular basis, why in the world would they think it's a good idea to make their transportation dependent on that same, less than dependable system? Right now, even if there's power outage, they can still use fuel that someone expensive, but they can be mobile. In South america, for decades people have been making their own fuel from biomass. This will only work with an internal combustion engine. An electric car when the grid is down, is an ornament. A very expensive ornament. This makes sense in some situations, but only in some of them.

[@incognitotorpedo42]

Coal is rapidly being retired. Other sources of electricity are far cheaper as well as cleaner. EVEN IF an EV is powered by coal, it STILL produces less CO2 than a car powered by gasoline because electric motors are so much more efficient than gas engines.

[@daphneraven9439]

@@incognitotorpedo42 an electric motor without a reliable source of energy to recharge it, is not a more reliable no I'm more efficient mode of transportation. It's an ornament. We absolutely do need something that's greener. But it would have made more sense to phase things in in a way that doesn't leave the most vulnerable people in the population at a loss.

[@YourCapybaraAmigo_17yrsago]

@@daphneraven9439 I agree 💯. Now if all cars were solar-powered or can evolve to take much more efficient, longer-lasting batteries....

[@pendragyn777]

Production quality was AAA.

[@brewkendoit]

Best narrator I've heard in KZbin so far 🎤

[@opieshomeshop]

Glad I don’t work for this company. Sheesh!!!!

[@thepunadude]

ID CALL IT RETHINKING HOW TO EFFICIENTLY STORE ENERGY .. & WHAT WE DEFINE 'ENERGY' AS BEING. THERMAL OPTIONS

[@kimmills3264]

CIRCULAR !!!! 💜🤎🖤🧡❤️🤍💙💜💚💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛🙏💃🕺 Circular... because uhmmm BIOMIMICRY!!! YEP, mmmhm, that's right, watch me work it, mmmhm,oh yeah💃🕺🙆🏆☯️🏳️

[@rashidjp7882]

AS THE ECONOMIC CRISIS KEEP RISING ONE NEEDS TO HAVE DIFFERENT STREAMS OF INCOME, AS WELL SECURE A PROFITABLE INVESTMENT FOR THE FUTURE.DETAILED DIVERSIFIED INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO IN THE FINANCIAL MARKETS IS NEEDED TO SURVIVE! WONDERING IF INVESTORS HERE ARE FAMILIAR WITH PAMELA KAY WEAVER TRADING STRATEGIES.?

[@anthonysanchez9094]

INVESTMENT IS THE KEY TO FININCAL FREEDOM 💯👊

[@mrsOlivia150]

​@Svetlana Shebchuk Please how can I reach her? I think I should try this woman. I have heard so much good news about her

[@larsdelange589]

I keep on hearing expert Mrs. Pamela's name being mentioned here and on Twitter Does she worth the credits and reviews?

[@Guillermo535]

@@larsdelange589 yeah, she does, she's an exceptional and lucrative broker at the same time. I just bought my dream Mercedes from last week's profit. All thanks to her expertise.✌️✌️

[@larsdelange589]

Okay then, I will give her a head start to see what she is capable of making.

[@ThankYouESM]

2 scientists have recently found a super cheap way to perfectly remodel atoms from 2D layering graphene sheets as also controlled through Moire placement. This means we might soon not need to do mining for acquiring any of the elements we need... and maybe can quickly enough recycle anything.

[@tormunnvii3317]

Make less cars and make more trains

[@JoseGSada]

$LICY

[@-Rishikesh]

we should more often think of living on earth as living on a spaceship. it brings the big picture into perspective and promotes us to leave the shitty politics.

[@chennoufimedalamine5806]

First

[@tuams]

It feels like if we would think about industries in full cycle. How to retain and reuse the energy we produce.

[@egonrexhauser9080]

why it is called battery? because now they are bat. we building them back better...i.;)

[@StarOnCheek]

Why do you talk about cars so often on hard reset? Cars are commonly known to be unsustainable and unnecessary right? Why not focus on lighting , heating, building etc

[@taiocruzzzaka4732]

Advance supercapacitor tech The future will be great with it If we can replace battery with supercaps and also mass produce it. The energy sector will become robust

[@wovasteengova]

The future of energy is wireless power

[@YourCapybaraAmigo_17yrsago]

Tesla seemed to think so, then his "research" mysteriously disappeared.

[@theescapist2508]

What's up with the cringe jokes and movie clips?

[@amygdalin9943]

The video is meant for a general audience, so references to popular media and jokes are used to keep things engaging

[@3revos503]

How about less jokes next time?

[@trescatorce9497]

Batteries of any kind need recycling. Battery manufacturers make money by SELLING batteries, not recycling them. So any battery, however small, costs the cost of making it, plus the costs of distributing, marketing, selling it plus the cost of recycling it. Today, not even the most environmentally minded person on the planet will drive 0.5 miles to dump his batteries in a recycling center. So the battery cost must reflect the entire loop cost. Any device that comes with a remote must have 2 prices= with or without a remote. the cost of the remote should be 500% of the overall cost. Any battery smaller than the one used to start a car, should be priced beyond the reach of Bezos or Musk. Yes, this includes cell phone batteries. It is high time we end the idiocy of being connected 24/7 and the NSA, GCHQ, Google, Apple, etc reading every bit of BS you upload or download. A SMART phone is only as smart as the one that bought it. For the global warmers paranoids= a battery is only, tops, 70% effective charging/discharging, and this number goes down as the battery ages. So every time you recharge your cell/remote/whatever, you only get 70% of your electric bill back. 30% goes to heat. And when you discharge the battery, you only get 70%. THINK

[@michaelhackenschmidt6243]

Too much overediting with the effects. Tune it down a lot, or is the target audience 12 years old? Such an important topic doesn't need flashy effects to be brought to the viewers.

[@FlamingsauceHD]

Nah