Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure the safe large-scale disposable of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

Electric vehicle battery recycling is covered by the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009, which ban the disposal of automotive and industrial batteries to landfill and incineration. This also establishes take-back and recycling obligations for industrial battery producers. The UK’s £274 million Faraday Battery Challenge is playing a leading role in promoting the reuse and recycling of battery components. This includes several industry led collaborative R&D projects and the Faraday Institution’s £10m ‘ReLib’ research project. ReLib is developing the technological, economic and legal infrastructure to allow high percentages of the materials in lithium ion batteries at the end of their first life to be reused or recycled. The Faraday Institution also participate in the Global Battery Alliance – a World Economic Forum initiative which aims to accelerate action towards a socially responsible, environmentally sustainable and innovative battery supply chain.