Pathway decisions for reuse and recycling of retired lithium-ion batteries considering economic and environmental functions

Ruifei Ma, Shengyu Tao, Xin Sun, Yifang Ren, Chongbo Sun, Guanjun Ji, Jiahe Xu, Xuecen Wang, Xuan Zhang (), Qiuwei Wu () and Guangmin Zhou ()
Additional contact information
Ruifei Ma: Tsinghua University
Shengyu Tao: Tsinghua University
Xin Sun: University of Groningen
Yifang Ren: Tsinghua University
Chongbo Sun: Tsinghua University
Guanjun Ji: Tsinghua University
Jiahe Xu: Tsinghua University
Xuecen Wang: Tsinghua University
Xuan Zhang: Tsinghua University
Qiuwei Wu: Tsinghua University
Guangmin Zhou: Tsinghua University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Reuse and recycling of retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries offer a sustainable waste management approach but face decision-making challenges. Based on the process-based life cycle assessment method, we present a strategy to optimize pathways of retired battery treatments economically and environmentally. The strategy is applied to various reuse scenarios with capacity configurations, including energy storage systems, communication base stations, and low-speed vehicles. Hydrometallurgical, pyrometallurgical, and direct recycling considering battery residual values are evaluated at the end-of-life stage. For the optimized pathway, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries improve profits by 58% and reduce emissions by 18% compared to hydrometallurgical recycling without reuse. Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) batteries boost profit by 19% and reduce emissions by 18%. Despite NMC batteries exhibiting higher immediate recycling returns, LFP batteries provide superior long-term benefits through reuse before recycling. Our strategy features an accessible evaluation framework for pinpointing optimal pathways of retired EV batteries.

Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52030-0 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-52030-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52030-0

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().