Should EV battery manufacturing be circular?

From both a sustainability and a financial point of view, taking a circular approach to EV battery manufacturing seems to make a lot of sense. As well as improving quality and efficiency, it could also lead to cost savings and help companies meet regulatory requirements. But what would it mean in practice?

How can EV batteries make a more circular approach?

There’s a lot of data involved in manufacturing EV batteries – so it’s crucial that systems use the right metrics and technology. But when deployed effectively, they can provide the basis for developing a more circular approach – with connected sensors and analytics supporting the optimal use of resources.

Can EV battery industry become a role-model for a circular economy?

Close cooperation of industrial players in the automotive and battery sector needs to be incentivized to balance the inevitable merits and drawbacks of standardization. 113 By implementing a design for circularity strategy, the EV battery industry could become a role-model for a gradual transition from a linear into a circular economy.

Is there a conflict between a circular battery design & sustainability?

No primary research results, software or code have been included and no new data were generated or analysed as part of this perspective. [Circular Battery Designs: Investing in Sustainability and Profitability]. There are no conflicts to declare.

Should we invest in a circular battery?

Instead, a rather long-term investment into circular battery designs and concurrently into the upscaling of direct recycling capacities represents an opportunity to establish a strengthened industrial and geopolitical position in the automotive and energy sector.

Can circular battery designs jeopardize competitiveness?

Understandably, this compromise cannot jeopardize competitiveness. If circular battery designs lead to significant penalties in performance and concurrently do not result in sufficient overall cost saving, this strategy cannot be pursued on the global LIB market.