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Climate One from The Commonwealth Club
Batteries Now Included
56 minutes Posted Aug 22, 2025 at 7:15 am.
Julian Spector on what grid scale battery instillations look like
Julian Spector on the success of battery deployment in 2024
Julian Spector on the impacts of Trump’s new budget law
Julian Spector on the outlook for battery storage in the next decade
Reported piece on Ascend by Camila Domonoske
David Klanecky on the battery recycling process
David Klanecky on competing with China
Shelia Davis on the biggest concerns about battery production
Shelia Davis on some of the risks posed by battery storage facilities
Shelia Davis on the risk a battery recycling facility posed in New YorkFor show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.
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Show notes
The Trump administration has taken aim at green energy, but one technology has largely been left untouched: batteries to store wind and solar electricity. California alone surpassed 13GW of battery storage last year, and Texas has become the fastest growing market for the technology. But producing batteries isn’t without its downsides, especially when it comes to mining the necessary raw materials. The upside is that those materials can be recycled and reused. If the recycling technology can reach scale and price targets, the environmental impact would drop significantly. And spent EV batteries could become a grid scale storage site even without breaking down the battery packs. How soon before renewables plus batteries can power our grid 24/7?
This episode features a reported piece by Camila Domonoske that was originally broadcast on NPR’s All Things Considered on July 10, 2024 
Guests: 
Julian Spector, Senior Reporter, Canary Media
David Klanecky, President, Cirba Solutions
Shelia Davis, EV Battery Waste Strategist, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
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