Report: Long Live our Batteries

What to do with the millions of tonnes of used electric-vehicle batteries? 

Assuming that there will be 38.5 million 100%-electric vehicles on the road by 2030 and, as one battery weighs between 300 and 700kg (depending on vehicle type and the energy levels generated), that amounts to several million tonnes of used electric-vehicle batteries that will have to be given a new lease of  life or in some way recycled. Knowing, too, that, only 15 % of the batteries from our various electronic instruments are currently recycled in France, we can understand only too well the triple challenge all this represents for the automotive sector.

Understanding battery production and recycling is a major challenge in environmental analysis for automotive companies, as is reducing vehicle weight. But, if the E(nvironment) is very relevant in any extra-financial analysis of the sector, it cannot be deemed the sole evaluation factor: the S(ocial) and G(overnance) pillars are just as important when evaluating a stock prior to integrating it into a sustainable portfolio – the Carlos Ghosn "affair" at Renault-Nissan showing the importance of faithfully complying with corporate governance rules. That’s the work, produced by a proprietary methodology implemented successfully for more than 20 years now, that the 15 or so analysts of Candriam’s ESG Research team have been applying daily to the extra-financial evaluation of the 1,600 or so stocks we monitor.

Read the full report by Candriam here.