Europe is one of the leading markets in terms of alternative powertrain vehicles penetration with long term policy targets and a multitude of relevant technology players. As the numbers of electrified powertrains (known as xEVs) are increasing, the management of End-of –Life batteries becomes a challenge that needs to be addressed. Such batteries retain significant capacity and could be reused while eventually they would be recycled to tackle potential resources shortage.
The Dismantling and Second Life Use of Batteries portion of the GHOST project is addressing these challenges. More specifically, Umicore, Toyota and ENGIE Laborelec come together to investigate the following topics:
- What are the improvement points in the design for automotive battery packs to ensure efficient dismantling, reuse and recycling?
- What are the technical characteristics and requirements for 2nd life (reuse) of automotive batteries in stationary storage systems?
- How can such 2nd life systems become economically viable in Europe within the concept of circular economy?
What are appropriate policy recommendations to support and accelerate circular economy for automotive batteries?
In that direction, partners have been working on drafting solutions to address:
- Sustainable battery system design while keeping high functionality and safety standards.
- Increasing battery dismantling efficiency and sorting methodology based on general design improvements of battery packs.
- Improved testing methods and protocols to ensure cost-efficient transition from in-car use to 2nd life usage of automotive batteries.
- Techno-economic assessment methodologies to evaluate the feasibility of battery reuse for stationary projects.
The final goal of partners in this part of GHOST is to contribute towards a more efficient, sustainable battery ecosystem that will support both the expansion of e-mobility and renewable energy production while ensuring cost-effective End-of-Life battery management and material recovery.
