Old car batteries could be turned into low-cost solar cells

It’s great that manufacturers recover lead from discarded car batteries to use in new ones, since lead production from ores yields toxic residues. The problem is, when we shift from lead-acid to lithium-ion and other types of batteries (and we’re starting to), over 200 million old batteries could be retired in the US and cause serious environmental issues. Thankfully, a team of MIT researchers has discovered one way to recycle lead from car batteries, and the end product is something very, very useful: long-lasting solar cells. We’re talking about a new breed of solar cells in particular, one that uses a compound called perovskite, which needs lead to be manufactured.