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 c...
| Autores: | , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/385825 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/385825 https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117814 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Lithium ion batteries Electric vehicles--Batteries Product life cycle--Environmental aspects Service life (Engineering) Circular economy Electric vehicle batteries End of life State of health Bateries d'ió liti Vehicles elèctrics--Bateries Economia circular Cicle de vida del producte--Aspectes ambientals Durabilitat (Enginyeria) Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Energies::Tecnologia energètica Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Desenvolupament humà i sostenible::Desenvolupament sostenible |
| Sumario: | 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. |
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