Viennese vehicle trade: E-car batteries are hazardous waste

Viennese vehicle trade: E-car batteries are hazardous waste

A burned-out Tesla has been standing in Tyrol for weeks, waiting to be disposed of properly, as an article recently published on tirol.orf.at reported ( https://tirol.orf.at/stories/3021270/ ). However, neither the fire department nor waste disposal companies nor manufacturers can currently guarantee this. Waste disposal companies rightly refuse to recycle scrapped electric cars because no one knows exactly which toxic components the battery contains or where exactly it begins and ends. The manufacturer itself refers to a disposal partner who, according to their own information, is not authorized to recycle a Tesla. Since then, the e-wreckage has been left in a remote location on company premises because no one can guarantee that the car will not burst into flames again. “Climate protection goals in transport are currently primarily intended to be achieved through the expansion of electromobility, but the resulting dangers and lack of disposal regulations have apparently been completely ignored to date,” criticizes Burkhard Ernst, state committee lobbyist for the Vienna vehicle trade.

No licensed disposal companies for electric cars

A lithium-ion battery that has caught fire, which is common in electric cars, can currently only be finally extinguished by cooling it for days in large containers containing around 11,000 liters of water. Through contact with the batteries, the water is so heavily contaminated that it has to be disposed of as hazardous waste at great expense, reports ORF Tirol. According to ORF, there is currently no disposal company in Austria that is fully licensed by the Ministry of the Environment and can dispose of a burned-out electric vehicle like the Tesla that burned out in Tyrol. To do this, experts now have to travel specifically from other European countries. “The fact that electric cars have been approved even though the customer is then left out in the cold during disposal is a danger to the environment and an unreasonable expectation for consumers,” criticizes Ernst. Despite these dangers, the current political will is to electrify transport as quickly as possible in order to reduce CO₂-Meet reduction targets. “However, the resulting dangers and the lack of framework conditions for environmentally friendly and efficient disposal are completely forgotten,” warns Ernst. Even if the risk of fire in electric cars is comparatively low, it is important to ensure that lithium-ion batteries are disposed of correctly because, if they are damaged, toxic gases or materials such as lithium or cobalt can escape and e.g. B. heavily pollute water bodies. This requires a new recycling system for the electromobility sector, which does not yet exist in Austria.

Electromobility strategy required

“Relying on electromobility alone as a panacea is far too short-sighted when it comes to climate protection,” criticizes Ernst. "The complex production and dangerous disposal of environmentally harmful batteries does not appear in the carbon footprint of 'environmentally friendly' electric cars. Therefore, there is an urgent need to promote a holistic strategy for electromobility that includes a recycling system and the professional handling of burning electric cars," demands Ernst. Also because the proportion of electric cars registered in Austria is just three percent, the problem has not yet affected many cars. But the proportion could soon increase significantly: in order to avoid fines, German automotive expert Prof. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer estimated at an event organized by the Vienna vehicle trade at the end of October that car manufacturers will sell electric cars significantly cheaper in the future. Hopefully not at the expense of safety and the environment.

A solution is now emerging for the burnt down Tesla in Tyrol: see ORF report