Factsheets and Webinar - New lives for lithium-ion EV batteries

---

How can lithium-ion EV batteries be managed in a circular perspective, once coming to their end of life? Answering this challenge is increasingly important in the context of ever-growing numbers of lithium-ion batteries. UEMI, UN-Habitat, Urban Pathways and the Wuppertal Institute jointly organized a webinar to identify solutions on 14 October, on the event of the International E-Waste Day. 

During the webinar, the UEMI team launched a series of Solutions+ factsheets, diving deeper into the four steps necessary to sustainably manage the batteries end-of-life: initial design of the battery, repurposing as energy storage systems, repair/refurbishing and finally recycling.
​
Guest speakers illustrated the four steps with case studies: Batteryloop, a company involved in second life applications together with the Solutions+ partner Volvo, betteries, a Berlin-based company exploring various second lives of batteries including in three-wheelers, and finally the Uruguayan recycling company Werba.

---

Repurposing Electric Vehicle Batteries
Emilie Martin (UEMI)

As the number of electric vehicles (EV) rapidly increases, the question of the end of life (EoL) management of their batteries becomes critical. Their EoL management can be separated in three main steps: repurposing or reusing batteries, repairing and refurbishing and finally recycling them (Figure 1). This factsheet covers repurposing also termed as the “second life” of the battery, corresponding to the following process: once a lithium-ion battery has reached the end of its automotive use (“first life”), usually estimated at a loss of between 20% and 30% of the initial capacity, it still has enough power (70%-80%) to be used for secondary applications as energy storage systems (ESS). Such uses cover a variety of purposes, including support for the integration of renewable energies in the grid, grid management including levelling demand peaks (“peak shaving”), back-up power or micro-grids. Hence, using second-hand EV batteries as ESS can be done in a variety of large and small-scale facilities including residential and commercial buildings, telecommunication towers, utilities.

Design - The Starting Point for a Circular Battery Value Chain
Adriana Marchiori Silva (UEMI)
​
Road transport emissions account for 5.8 GtCO2e per year – almost 75% of all transport GHG emissions and 11% of global GHG emissions. Within road transport, passenger road transport is the largest emitter with 4.0 GtCO2e, followed by commercial road transport with 1.8 GtCO2e. Electrification is the key decarbonization lever for road transport. In use, EVs currently emit 30- 60% fewer emissions than combustion engines depending on the power mix (Global Battery Alliance, 2019). EVs also help to improve local air quality by avoiding other toxic emissions, for example, nitrogen oxide or particulate matter

Refurbishing Electric Vehicle Batteries
Juan Carriquiry (UEMI)
​
The question of the end of life (EoL) management of electric vehicle batteries (EVB) becomes critical since the number of EVs is permanently increasing. The EoL management consists of three main steps: repurposing or reusing batteries, refurbishing and finally recycling them (Figure 1). This factsheet covers the refurbishing of batteries, what takes place once a failure occurs or when a lithium-ion battery has reached the end of its automotive use (70%-80% of its initial capacity, depending on the manufacturer specification or the user requirements as well) and no second life is possible because of faulty cells or modules. Power and energy requirements can be significantly affected when an EVB fails, with undesirable consequences on driving range, final velocity, acceleration and slope compensation. Nevertheless, failed EVBs can still be useful if the damage is not total and if an adequate refurbishing is carried out.

Recycling Plant for Waste Battery Treatment
​Juan Carriquiry (UEMI)

Waste battery treatment is currently “a must” since the electric vehicles in different forms are overflowing the market. How waste battery treatment contributes to the improvement of the environment, it is quite direct. On the one hand, it prevents the burial of a hazardous waste in the landfill, with all its related risks such as explosions, fire and the release of toxic substances to the ground, water and air currents. On the other hand, waste battery management prevent quite serious social impacts since there are informal collectors in different points of the recycling chain (including the landfill, in particular in the developing countries) who are exposed to an extremely dangerous material. Additionally, the waste is transformed into raw material at a lower environmental and economic cost in comparison with mining, what would be an important benefit of this activity.