An employee moves a used lithium-ion electric vehicle battery under a Nissan Leaf electric vehicle at a factory in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on Mar. 26, 2018. | Photo by Akio Kon / Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Department of Energy just took a first step toward launching new lithium-ion battery recycling programs in the US. It issued a Request for Information (RFI) yesterday to ask for public input on how to spend $335 million in federal investments for battery recycling that was included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last year.
Lithium-ion batteries used to power electric vehicles and store renewable electricity are a major building block for a clean energy economy. Recycling could ease the impending squeeze on materials needed to meet rapidly rising demand for those technologies — especially as the Biden administration tries to keep the US on track to meet pollution-cutting goals it’s agreed to under the Paris climate…