Study of a battery collection and repurposing for a second life plant

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse the technical and economic feasibility of establishing a recovery and recycling plant that will receive used lithium ion batteries from electric vehicles (EVs). This battery type is currently the most used in the automotive sector and they are the most expensive component of the vehicle as they comprise several valuable materials. Thus, reducing this cost by extending the application life of the battery or by recycling its materials appears to be an attractive solution to boost their market penetration. Three different strategies for discarded EV batteries will be assessed: direct reuse, repurpose or recycling. Furthermore, several potential applications for second life batteries will be analysed from an economic, environmental and social point of view.