Comment by numpad0
5 months ago
Li-ion batteries are older than you think. First volume production of NMC cells happened 1991. LFP in 1997. Google was founded 1998.
No one made fortune in Li-ion recycling in all those years. Li-ion cells remained disposable.
Lithium cells are still disposable (eg vapes). The difference is that a single EV contains hundreds of kilograms are we are not used to just chucking old cars in the gutter.
The volume of batteries wasn't there, neither did we really have the network to sell scrap batteries like we do with used cars.