Energy and environmental benefits of circular economy strategies: The case study of reusing used batteries from electric vehicles

Cusenza, Maria Anna; Guarino, Francesco; Longo, Sonia; Ferraro, Marco; Cellura, Maurizio

doi:10.1016/j.est.2019.100845

Cited by 102 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Kokkinos, Proskynitopoulou, and Zouboulis (2019) demonstrated techniques of chromium and energy recovery for CE implementation in the tannery industry and confirmed that appropriate recovery techniques can be enacted as crucial success factors for waste recovery. Cusenza, Guarino, Longo, Ferraro, and Cellura (2019) showed the importance of CE in the domain of used electric vehicle batteries and mentioned that suitable facilities for waste recycling and reuse can improve a firm's sustainability. These studies confirm that appropriate recycling techniques and reuse facilities can greatly assist decision makers in the implementation of CE and can help achieve sustainability in the SC networks.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical success factors for a circular economy: Implications for business strategy and the environment

et al. 2020

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Eco-efficiency and resource optimization for business strategy and the environment can be achieved by the circular economy (CE) practices in supply chains (SCs). The leather industry is a significant industrial contributor to the economic growth of some countries, but at the same time, it leads to tremendous environmental pollution. This research focuses on the identification and evaluation of critical success factors (CSFs) needed in the business strategy development of CE practices as well as to minimize environmental pollution in leather industry SCs. The CSFs are identified via a comprehensive literature review and are validated by experts' opinions. The validated CSFs are further analyzed using the best-worst method (BWM) and the decisionmaking trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL). The BWM is used to identify the weights of the CSFs, and DEMATEL is used to determine the cause-effect relationship between the CSFs. The findings show that "leadership and top management commitment" is the most important CSF. Six CSFs are classified as causal towards CE practices: "leadership and top management commitment," "strong legislation towards CE practices," "ecological scarcity of resources," "knowledge of CE practices," "funding support for R&D from the government," and "competitor pressure on CE practices." The findings of this study can help managers in the leather industry implement CE practices in their existing SCs to minimize waste.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical success factors for a circular economy: Implications for business strategy and the environment

et al. 2020

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“…through commercialisation of ground-breaking battery technologies 16 or a switch to high nickel (Ni) chemistry reducing the Co content. A third strategy aims to promote the re-use market for EV batteries in less demanding applications such as residential buildings 17 or communication base stations 18 . The fourth strategy is based on a closed loop battery recycling system, whereby waste batteries are a new source of secondary materials for new battery production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circular economy strategies for electric vehicle batteries reduce reliance on raw materials

et al. 2020

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The wide adoption of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) will require increased natural resources for the automotive industry. The expected rapid increase in batteries could result in new resource challenges and supply chain risks. To strengthen the resilience and sustainability of automotive supply chains and reduce primary resource requirements, circular economy strategies are needed. Here we illustrate how these strategies can reduce primary raw material extraction i.e. cobalt supplies. Material flow analysis is applied to understand current and future flows of cobalt embedded in EVs batteries across the European Union. A reference scenario is presented and compared with four strategies: technology driven substitution and technology driven reduction of cobalt, new business models to stimulate battery reuse/recycling and policy driven strategy to increase recycling. We find that new technologies provide the most promising strategies to reduce the reliance on cobalt significantly but could result in burden shifting such as an increase in nickel demand. To avoid the latter, technological developments should therefore be combined with an efficient recycling system. We conclude that more ambitious circular economy strategies, at both government and business levels, are urgently needed to address current and future resource challenges across the supply chain successfully.

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“…Fuel costs here have risen significantly, above all because the fuels have to be imported leading to dependency. Although measures are being taken by the government to counteract the fluctuations, these cannot stop the global trend (Chegere et al 2013). If Tanzania were to primarily use diesel to generate electricity, generation costs would be relatively high and difficult to plan compared to PV systems (Moner-Girona ).…”

Section: Diesel Generator As Discontinued Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is all the more important that batteries remain in use as long as possible and are not recycled prematurely. So the reuse of used batteries for a second life scenario, as described in this article, has an essential environmental benefit as the emissions from the manufacturing process are split between first and second use before the recycling process is initiated, thus also improving the environmental performance could improve in the range of potential 7-40%, of the components used (Cusenza et al 2019).…”

Section: Ecological Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying Lithium-Ion Second Life Batteries for Off-Grid Solar Powered System—A Socio-Economic Case Study for Rural Development

et al. 2020

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Socio-economic development in the rural regions of Africa cannot succeed without suitable infrastructure. An essential key to this is electrification. Despite various national and international activities and expansion programmes, and a wide variety of actors, their implementation is progressing slowly. In order to supply remote areas with electricity, off-grid system technologies have become increasingly common in recent years. In this article, we present the use of a photovoltaic system in conjunction with a 85 kWh second life lithium-ion battery (LIB) as an off-grid hybrid system to electrify an island in Lake Victoria in Tanzania as a socio-economic case study. This off-grid hybrid system was able to supply an average of 42.31 kWh of energy per day, with the daily demand of the key infrastructure successfully connected in the project, such as the local hospital and school, amounting to 18.75 kWh. The scaled annual production of 15,443.16 kWh offers enough potential to include private households as well as the local fishing industry in the power supply. Assuming an expected lifetime of 15 years, the described system amortises itself from the 4th year. In addition, this project should also serve as a possible second life scenario for batteries with regard to the rapidly developing global electromobility and the perspective return of used LIBs. An economic and an ecological evaluation shows a solution approach of using a second life lithium-ion battery compared to a conventional diesel generator solution. The consideration of health aspects is included in the evaluation. Zusammenfassung Eine sozioökonomische Entwicklung in den ländlichen Regionen Afrikas kann ohne geeignete Infrastruktur nicht gelingen. Ein wesentlicher Eckpfeiler hierfür stellt die Elektrifizierung dar. Trotz diverser nationaler wie internationaler Maßnahmen und Ausbauprogramme, unterschiedlichster Akteure, schreitet die Umsetzung nur langsam voran. Um abgelegene Gegenden dennoch mit Elektrizität zu versorgen, haben sich in den vergangenen Jahren verstärkt netzunabhängige Systemtechnologien durchgesetzt. In diesem Artikel zeigen wir den Einsatz einer Photovoltaikanlage in Verbindung mit einer 85 kWh Second Life Lithium-Ionen-Batterie (LIB) als netzunabhängiges Hybridsystem, zur Elektrifizierung einer Insel im Viktoriasee in Tansania als sozioökonomisches Projekt. Mit diesem netzunabhängigen Hybridsystem konnte täglich durchschnittlich 42,31 kWh Energie geliefert werden, wobei der tägliche Bedarf der im Projekt erfolgreich angeschlossenen Schlüsselinfrastruktur, wie das lokale Krankenhaus und die Schule, 18,75 kWh beträgt. Die skalierte Jahresproduktion von 15.443,16 kWh bietet genug Kapazität, private Haushalte sowie die lokale Fischerei mit in die Stromversorgung einzubeziehen. In der Annahme einer erwarteten Lebensdauer von 15 Jahren kann sich das beschriebene System bereits ab dem 4. Jahr amortisieren. Darüber hinaus soll dieses Projekt auch in Hinblick auf die sich rasant entwickelnde globale Elektromobilität und dem perspektivischen Rückla...

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Energy and environmental benefits of circular economy strategies: The case study of reusing used batteries from electric vehicles

Cited by 102 publications

References 34 publications

Critical success factors for a circular economy: Implications for business strategy and the environment

Critical success factors for a circular economy: Implications for business strategy and the environment

Circular economy strategies for electric vehicle batteries reduce reliance on raw materials

Applying Lithium-Ion Second Life Batteries for Off-Grid Solar Powered System—A Socio-Economic Case Study for Rural Development

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