The UK's car industry could stage a revival by recycling rare earths and South Wales could be at the forefront, writes Gavin Harper, research fellow at the Birmingham Centre for Starategic Elements & Critical Materials and Calvin Jones, Professor at Cardiff Business School.

“When will battery recycling ramp up?”, published by LancasterOnline on 1 January 2023, carries comments Gavin originally gave to The New York Times.

“Tapping into the EV energy”, published by The Spokesman-Review on 1 January 2023, carries comments Gavin originally gave to The New York Times.

“Startups race to launch battery-recycling plants”, published by Star Tribune on 29 December 2022, carries comments Gavin originally gave to The New York Times.

Gavin is quoted in “Electric dream - or consumer nightmare?”, an article by Vicky Parrott published by The Telegraph on 30 July 2022.

Gavin is quoted in “The electric cars with the best – and worst – battery life if you're looking to buy in 2022”, an article by Vicky Parrott published by The Telegraph on 12 July 2022.

Colourless, odourless, and about two-thirds lighter than air, neon slips by unnoticed in tiny quantities in the atmosphere. It may soon be conspicuous by its absence, however, as war in Ukraine disrupts vital industrial supplies of the gas.  Ukraine produces about half of the world’s high-purity neon, needed for the lasers that etch patterns onto microchips used in everything from cars to consumer electronics, smartphones, fridges and microwaves.  Russia’s onslaught has forced factories in Mariupol and Odesa to close, however, sending ripples through supply chains across the world.

Gavin is quoted in “Car factories halt production as war hits neon supplies”, an article published by The Telegraph on 27 March 2022.

Gavin is quoted in “Battery Recycling Challenge Looms as Electric Vehicle Business Booms”, an article by Sean O'Neill published by Engineering on 26 November 2021.

Detroit — Responding to battery defects that cause a risk of fire in Chevrolet Bolt electric cars, a federal auto safety agency is communicating with the battery's maker, LG Energy Solution, to see whether other carmakers' EVs are affected. The defects led General Motors Co. last month to expand prior recalls of the Bolt EV and Bolt EUV to include all of the electric vehicles from the 2017-22 model years.

A fire at one of the largest Tesla battery installations in the world has drawn fresh attention to the risks of batteries used to store renewable energy for electricity grids.

Immer mehr Elektroautos rollen über die Strassen Europas. Sie haben eine eingebaute Schwachstelle: Batterien aus Metallen, die weltweit knapp werden. Am Meeresboden schlummern diese wertvollen Metalle in Massen. Sie lassen sich jedoch nicht einfach bergen.

LONDON: Researchers in Britain and the United States have found ways to recycle electric vehicle batteries that can drastically cut costs and carbon emissions, shoring up sustainable supplies for an expected surge in demand. The techniques, which involve retrieving parts of the battery so they can be reused, would help the auto industry tackle criticism that even though EVs reduce emissions over their lifetime, they start out with a heavy carbon footprint of mined materials.

Gavin is quoted in “The race to clean up before electric cars create a toxic battery mountain”, an article published by The Telegraph on 20 June 2021.

Gavin is quoted in “Electric car revolution risks mountain of toxic battery waste”, an article by Matthew Field published by The Telegraph on 19 June 2021.