End of Electric Vehicle Batteries: Reuse vs. Recycle

Deciphering the future of electric vehicles amid emissions and adoption drivers

Climate change and CO2 emissions are critical challenges for the environment and humanity. There is extensive literature on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in particular CO2 emissions. However, comprehensive analyses focusing on electric vehicles (EVs) and their impact are lacking. This study fills this gap by conducting a bibliometric analysis of 1143 peer-reviewed studies from 1989 to 2023. We aimed to identify influential contributions, understand the field's structure, and reveal research gaps. Analysis included citation networks, research impact, authorship patterns, content, and publication trends. We utilized bibliometric techniques to identify the most dominant countries, institutions, authors, journals, articles, and thematic areas related to EVs and emissions. Additionally, we overviewed publications associated with key search terms. Guided by five research dimensions (EVs, emissions, adoption, policies, and infrastructures), we framed specific research questions. This research provides valuable insights for environmentalists, policymakers, regulators, and academic researchers, facilitating access to crucial data on EVs and emissions.

Are electric vehicle batteries being underused? A review of current practices and sources of circularity

The increasing demand for Lithium-ion batteries for Electric Vehicle calls for the adoption of sustainable practices and a switch towards a circular economy-based system to ensure that the electrification of transportation does not come at a high environmental cost. While driving patterns have not changed much over the years, the current Electric Vehicle market is evolving towards models with higher battery capacities. In addition, these batteries are considered to reach the End of Life at 70-80% State of Health, regardless of their capacity and application requirements. These issues may cause an underuse of the batteries and, therefore, hinder the sustainability of the Electric Vehicle. The goal of this study is to review and compare the circular processes available around Electric Vehicle batteries. The review highlights the importance of prioritizing the first-life of the battery onboard, starting with reducing the nominal capacity of the models. In cases where the battery is in risk of reaching the End of Life with additional value, Vehicle to Grid is encouraged over the deployment of second-life applications, which are being strongly promoted through institutional fundings in Europe. As a result of the identified research gaps, the methodological framework for the estimation of a functional End of Life is proposed, which constitutes a valuable tool for sustainable decision-making and allows to identify a more accurate End of Life, rather than considering the fixed threshold assumed in the literature.

Car Engines Comparative Analysis: Sustainable Approach

The European Union takes significant steps to support the development of the electric sector of the automotive market. This is confirmed by the signed declaration in Glasgow, which leads to a ban on the sale of cars with combustion engines from 2035. This document changes the car industry and makes it dependent on electricity production. The problem identified in this article is the actual impact of implemented solutions concerning the type of engine in cars offered for sale in Czechia, Germany, and Poland. Therefore, the aim of this scientific paper is car engines’ multilevel comparative analysis. The aim of the article is accompanied by a research question: are electric vehicles less harmful to the natural environment? The paper compares cars of the same producer, class, and type with petrol, diesel, hybrid (petrol-electric), and electric engines in terms of the environmental impact. The research method is a comparative SUV analysis supported by the comparison of selected countries’ conditions for electromobility development. The results of this study indicate that vehicles with electric engines emit the least amount of carbon dioxide and are the most environmentally friendly solution in the given comparison criteria.

Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling in the Circular Economy: A Review

Lithium-ion batteries have become a crucial part of the energy supply chain for transportation (in electric vehicles) and renewable energy storage systems. Recycling is considered one of the most effective ways for recovering the materials for spent LIB streams and circulating the material in the critical supply chain. However, few review articles have been published in the research domain of recycling and the circular economy, with most mainly focusing on either recycling methods or the challenges and opportunities in the circular economy for spent LIBs. This paper reviewed 93 articles (66 original research articles and 27 review articles) identified in the Web of Science core collection database. The study showed that publications in the area are increasing exponentially, with many focusing on recycling and recovery-related issues; policy and regulatory affairs received less attention than recycling. Most of the studies were experiments followed by evaluation and planning (as per the categorization made). Pre-treatment processes were widely discussed, which is a critical part of hydrometallurgy and direct physical recycling (DPR). DPR is a promising recycling technique that requires further attention. Some of the issues that require further consideration include a techno-economic assessment of the recycling process, safe reverse logistics, a global EV assessment revealing material recovery potential, and a lifecycle assessment of experiments processes (both in the hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processes). Furthermore, the application of the circular business model and associated stakeholders’ engagement, clear and definitive policy guidelines, extended producer responsibility implications, and material tracking, and identification deserve further focus. This study presents several future research directions that would be useful for academics and policymakers taking necessary steps such as product design, integrated recycling techniques, intra-industry stakeholder cooperation, business model development, techno-economic analysis, and others towards achieving a circular economy in the LIB value chain.

Barriers and Enablers of Circular Economy Implementation for Electric-Vehicle Batteries: From Systematic Literature Review to Conceptual Framework

With the burgeoning transition toward electrified automobile fleets, electric-vehicle batteries (EVBs) have become one of the critical aspects to be considered to avoid resources issues while achieving necessary climate goals. This paper compiles and syntheses reported barriers, enablers, involved stakeholders, and business models of Circular Economy (CE) implementation of the EVBs based on a systematic literature review (SLR). Findings indicate that inefficient and inadequate government policy, lack of safety standards, and high recycling costs are the three most reported barriers. The barriers have interconnections with each other, implying the necessity for simultaneous strategies. Based on the barriers-enablers analysis, the key strategies establishing the CE for the EVBs are innovative business models, economic incentives, EVB standards, legal environmental responsibilities, and certification, whereas the optimized supply-chain operations can be realized through eco-design of the EVBs, battery modularization, proper technology for checking, diagnosing, tracking, information sharing, extensive collaboration, alignment of supply-chain stakeholders, innovative business model, and certification. A conceptual framework presenting the required strategies for both establishing the CE and optimizing the circular supply chain system of the EVBs was then proposed. Potential future research directions are also discussed.

Collection mode choice of spent electric vehicle batteries: considering collection competition and third-party economies of scale

With the rapid development of the electric vehicle (EV) industry, the recycling of spent EV batteries has attracted considerable attention. The establishment and optimization of the collection mode is a key link in regulating the recycling of spent EV batteries. This paper investigates an EV battery supply chain including an EV manufacturer, an EV retailer, and a third-party collector and analyzes three dual-channel collection modes. The optimal pricing and collection decisions of the three dual-channel collection modes are obtained and compared. The collection mode choice strategy and the effects of third-party economies of scale are explored. Three interesting insights are derived: (i) Third-party economies of scale can improve the collection rate of spent EV batteries and the profit of the supply chain. (ii) The optimal collection mode choice depends on the intensity of collection competition and the third-party economies of scale. (iii) When the intensity of collection competition and the third-party economies of scale are high enough, the EV retailer and the third-party dual-channel collection mode is the optimal mode; otherwise, the EV manufacturer and the EV retailer dual-channel collection mode is optimal.

Economic Aspects for Recycling of Used Lithium-Ion Batteries from Electric Vehicles

Worldwide, there has been an exponential growth in the production and application of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), driven by the energy transition and the electric vehicle market. The scarcity of raw materials and the circular economy strategy of LIBs encourage the need to reuse components, recycle, and give second life to used batteries. However, one of the obstacles is the insufficient volume of LIBs for recycling, which prevents the economic viability of this industrial process. Thus, this article mainly focuses on the economic aspects of the recycling of LIBs, presenting and analyzing: (i) the advantages and disadvantages of recycling and (ii) a survey of factors that influence the cost and economic feasibility of disposing of batteries. The importance of regulations, the market, and business models regarding the recycling of LIBs in a few countries are also discussed. Finally, a business model is created for recycling LIBs in Brazil. The main factors that influence the economic feasibility of this process are indicated, such as government incentives through regulation, exemption from fees and taxes, and the adequacy of battery technology. Encouraging recycling through tax exemptions or reductions can make the process more economically viable, in addition to contributing to the circular economy. Another essential factor to be considered is the creation of joint ventures, which can facilitate the entire chain of the circular economy, including logistics, transport, and disposal of batteries.

Literature Review, Recycling of Lithium-Ion Batteries from Electric Vehicles, Part I: Recycling Technology

During recent years, emissions reduction has been tightened worldwide. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) that can meet emission requirements. The growing number of new EVs increases the consumption of raw materials during production. Simultaneously, the number of used EVs and subsequently retired lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) that need to be disposed of is also increasing. According to the current approaches, the recycling process technology appears to be one of the most promising solutions for the End-of-Life (EOL) LIBs—recycling and reusing of waste materials would reduce raw materials production and environmental burden. According to this performed literature review, 263 publications about “Recycling of Lithium-ion Batteries from Electric Vehicles” were classified into five sections: Recycling Processes, Battery Composition, Environmental Impact, Economic Evaluation, and Recycling & Rest. The whole work reviews the current-state of publications dedicated to recycling LIBs from EVs in the techno-environmental-economic summary. This paper covers the first part of the review work; it is devoted to the recycling technology processes and points out the main study fields in recycling that were found during this work.

Optimization of Disassembly Strategies for Electric Vehicle Batteries

Various studies show that electrification, integrated into a circular economy, is crucial to reach sustainable mobility solutions. In this context, the circular use of electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) is particularly relevant because of the resource intensity during manufacturing. After reaching the end-of-life phase, EVBs can be subjected to various circular economy strategies, all of which require the previous disassembly. Today, disassembly is carried out manually and represents a bottleneck process. At the same time, extremely high return volumes have been forecast for the next few years, and manual disassembly is associated with safety risks. That is why automated disassembly is identified as being a key enabler of highly efficient circularity. However, several challenges need to be addressed to ensure secure, economic, and ecological disassembly processes. One of these is ensuring that optimal disassembly strategies are determined, considering the uncertainties during disassembly. This paper introduces our design for an adaptive disassembly planner with an integrated disassembly strategy optimizer. Furthermore, we present our optimization method for obtaining optimal disassembly strategies as a combination of three decisions: (1) the optimal disassembly sequence, (2) the optimal disassembly depth, and (3) the optimal circular economy strategy at the component level. Finally, we apply the proposed method to derive optimal disassembly strategies for one selected battery system for two condition scenarios. The results show that the optimization of disassembly strategies must also be used as a tool in the design phase of battery systems to boost the disassembly automation and thus contribute to achieving profitable circular economy solutions for EVBs.