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Traceability and sustainable extended life cycle strategies for EV batteries

The project focuses on the need for appropriate traceability for EV batteries, and sustainable extended life cycle strategies of reduce, reuse and recycle.

Background

There is a growth in the number of EVs in use, and hence also discarded EV batteries. It is critical to trace the batteries so that the policy of electrification does not lead to a negative impact on sustainability. Also for a circular economy, it is necessary to consider the sustainable extended life cycle strategies of reduce, reuse and recycle. Information gathering and sharing through the supply chain is the key driver for enabling the tracking and tracing of materials and services needed. Traceability indicators across the value chain may enable the creation of a comprehensive database that aids the circular economy goals.

Aims and objectives

The aims of the project are:

  • Appropriate CE business models must be identified, given the characteristics of the EV batteries, stakeholders and technology dynamics.
  • Information-sharing technology suitable for EV battery reuse and recycling for the specific CE business model pursued needs to be established. Relevant technologies are characterized by cross-organization sharing and systems interoperability, but with a varied degree of openness to new actors.
  • One of the potential technology is blockchain that could help in ensuring the provenance of the material as shown in figure.
  • The uniqueness of the technology adoption needs further clarification, to ensure that the CE business models can be realized in practice. This involves identifying the preferences and capabilities of the EV ecosystem actors and explore what makes such adoption unique.

Project plan

The project discusses three different circular economy business models and identifies the key traceability indicators for enabling circularity in the lithium-ion battery application in the automotive sector. Another focus is setting up the foundation for developing blockchain–based circular economy framework for EV batteries.

So far the insights from the project are:

  • Traceability characteristics for various circular economy business models.
  • Relevant for the management of access to materials, as demand for EV batteries increases.
  • Three main CE models were identified in the study: restricted, narrow, and broad.
  • The particularities of EV battery technology and the information that is traced from their use was explored in the study, highlighting the importance of data capture and its accessibility by the various involved parties.

Merging the circular business models and battery information management system, a CE business model battery traceability framework was developed, with emphasis on its unique characteristics.

Applied interdisciplinarity

Sustainable industrial transformation requires interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach. It involves diverse technological developments and implementations following a systems perspective which calls for collaborations among different actors. Similarly, development and implementation of effective CE model for EV batteries requires amalgamation of business model perspective, supply chain technology development, and deep knowledge of battery functionalities and lifecycle which is being addressed by consortium of researchers from HPU, INDEK and Energy Technology Department of KTH.

Papers

  • Agrawal, T. K., Angelis, J., Kalaiarasan, R., Thakur, J., and Wiktorsson, M. (20XX). “Enabling circularity of EV batteries - the need for appropriate traceability”, 2021 IEEE International Conference on Technology Management, Operations and Decisions (ICTMOD)
  • Thakur, J., Agrawal, T. K. (2021) “Traceability for attaining sustainability and circularity in electric batteries supply chain” 16th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES), Dubrovnik, Croatia

KTH Collaborations

Energy Technology
Contact person at Energy technology – Jagruti Ramsing Thakur (Researcher)

Industrial Economics and Management (INDEK)
Contact person at INDEK – Jannis Angelis (Associate Professor)

Sustainable Production Development (HPU)

Duration

May 2019 – April 2022

Project participants

tkag