Life Cycle Assessment of a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) Electric Vehicle Battery in Second Life Application Scenarios

Christos S. Ioakimidis, Alberto Murillo-Marrodán, Ali Bagheri, Dimitrios Thomas and Konstantinos N. Genikomsakis
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Christos S. Ioakimidis: European Research Area Chair (*Holder) ‘Net-Zero Energy Efficiency on City Districts, NZED’ Unit, Research Institute for Energy, University of Mons, Rue de l’Epargne, 56, 7000 Mons, Belgium
Alberto Murillo-Marrodán: Department of Mechanics, Design and Industrial Management, University of Deusto, Avda Universidades 24, 48007 Bilbao, Spain
Ali Bagheri: European Research Area Chair (*Holder) ‘Net-Zero Energy Efficiency on City Districts, NZED’ Unit, Research Institute for Energy, University of Mons, Rue de l’Epargne, 56, 7000 Mons, Belgium
Dimitrios Thomas: European Research Area Chair (*Holder) ‘Net-Zero Energy Efficiency on City Districts, NZED’ Unit, Research Institute for Energy, University of Mons, Rue de l’Epargne, 56, 7000 Mons, Belgium
Konstantinos N. Genikomsakis: European Research Area Chair (*Holder) ‘Net-Zero Energy Efficiency on City Districts, NZED’ Unit, Research Institute for Energy, University of Mons, Rue de l’Epargne, 56, 7000 Mons, Belgium

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: This paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) study that examines a number of scenarios that complement the primary use phase of electric vehicle (EV) batteries with a secondary application in smart buildings in Spain, as a means of extending their useful life under less demanding conditions, when they no longer meet the requirements for automotive purposes. Specifically, it considers a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery to analyze four second life application scenarios by combining the following cases: (i) either reuse of the EV battery or manufacturing of a new battery as energy storage unit in the building; and (ii) either use of the Spanish electricity mix or energy supply by solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Based on the Eco-indicator 99 and IPCC 2007 GWP 20a methods, the evaluation of the scenario results shows that there is significant environmental benefit from reusing the existing EV battery in the secondary application instead of manufacturing a new battery to be used for the same purpose and time frame. Moreover, the findings of this work exemplify the dependence of the results on the energy source in the smart building application, and thus highlight the importance of PVs on the reduction of the environmental impact.

Keywords: battery reuse; electric vehicle; life cycle assessment; lithium iron phosphate; lithium-ion battery; secondary application (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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