When the battery discharges, it uses oxygen from the air to convert metallic iron to iron oxide or rust. During the charging process, iron oxide is converted back to iron, and oxygen is given out.

A new study suggests battery recyclers could reduce environmental impacts and costs by replacing harsh chemicals with a neutral solvent to recover minerals.

Today’s electric vehicles (EVs) mainly use batteries with cathodes made of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) or lithium iron phosphate (LFP). Tesla and BYD, the world’s largest EV companies, ...