Electric vehicle batteries may have a new source material – used tires

As demand for electric vehicles continues to grow, one start-up company is looking to make the cars even more sustainable – by turning used tires into batteries. 

Most electric vehicles rely on lithium-ion batteries for their power. But critics say that those batteries are far from being as efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable as they could be. That's where one Chile-based company says old tires come into play. 

The company, called T-Phite is putting used car tires through a process called pyrolysis, which entails putting the tires under extreme heat so that they break down into smaller molecules. T-Phite CEO Bernardita Diaz says those molecules become three primary byproducts – pyrolytic oil, steel and carbon black, a substance that contains graphite material essential to providing an electric pathway within batteries for energy to surge.