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Resource efficiency

Recreate: Secondary Life Management of Electric Vehicle Batteries

The Recreate project will analyse Electric Vehicle battery’s value chain and propose second life business model solutions and related methods and processes, considering remanufacturing, repurposing, and reuse alternatives.

Project manager at MDU

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Background

By 2025, an estimated 250,000 metric tons of Electric Vehicles (EV) li-ion batteries will have reached end of life, having huge implications on sustainability and overall global sustainable development goals. Capturing actual value from these retired EV batteries is the cornerstone for achieving sustainable development and the circular economy. In Europe, several vehicle manufacturers are exploring such emerging market opportunities in partnership with electric utilities as well as specialist third parties, installing used batteries primarily in different kinds of energy storage systems, ranging from small residential systems to larger containerized grid-scale solutions.

All our industrial partner companies-namely, Volvo Construction Equipment AB, Bombardier Transportation AB, Kablageproduktion AB, Mälarenergi AB, Eskilstuna Strängnäs Energi och Miljö AB, and Volvo Parts AB-have also acknowledged such business opportunities with batteries' second life. However, they face several layers of issues and many uncertainties, making success difficult to realize. Accordingly, due to the complexity and many unanswered questions, the uptake of EV batteries' second life has not yet been fully established in industries, despite being a potential revenue and profit contributor.

Project purpose

Based on the industrial needs and the identified theoretical gaps, Recreate aims to develop knowledge on how to achieve efficient and economically feasible second life management solutions for EV batteries to improve the Swedish manufacturing industry' competitiveness and support its efforts in achieving electromobility in a sustainable way. Through close collaboration with project partners, Recreate will analyse battery value chain and propose second life business model solutions and related methods and processes, considering remanufacturing, repurposing, and reuse alternatives.

The project will mainly perform following five activities which will be carried out in collaboration with our project partners:

  • Mapping barriers and opportunities for the second life of EV batteries in a value chain
    of EV batteries in a value chain
  • Benchmarking and specifying second life business model concepts from a value chain perspective
  • Developing required methods, processes, and capabilities for realising second life concepts
  • Propose and demonstrate second life battery solutions for the value chain
  • Define design for the second life and related principles and guidelines

The project work will be conducted in Eskilstuna (MD, Volvo CE, Eskilstuna Strängnäs Energi och Miljö), Västerås (Bombardier Transportation, Kablageproduktion AB, Mälarenergi AB), and Flen (Volvo Parts).