Economic and environmental assessment of reusing electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries for load leveling in the residential, industrial and photovoltaic power plants sectors

Abstract

Reaching 70–80% of primary capacity, lithium-ion batteries must be replaced in electric vehicles. However, they could be reused in other applications such as energy storage stations. In this paper, an economic evaluation of reusage of lithium-ion packs for load leveling in the residential, industrial and photovoltaic power plants sectors have been investigated from subscriber and government aspects. Several repurposed electric vehicle battery packs have been taking into account for different tariffs and scenarios. It is found that utilization of battery can reduce electricity bill for residential consumers by 14.25% based on the current electricity market and 39.75% if the fine of the peak time consumption is tripled. However, the current subsidy rate in the electricity tariffs is the main barrier in terms of the payback period for homeowners. Moreover, it is found that decrease in the battery prices by 2035 as the only factor will not justify usage of repurposed battery in residential sector, furthermore, tariffs must also be regulated. Sensitivity analysis declared that a 20% reduction in the price of battery in residential sector, affects the internal rate of return by 164%. Meanwhile, increasing in the on-peak tariff can fluctuate it by 44%. Reusing electric vehicle batteries could be more profitable in the industrial sector due to the realistic tariff. In addition to the operation cost, government saving is analyzed from the initial cost aspect. Results illustrated that utilization of repurposed battery packs can reduce construction costs of new on-peak thermal power plants by 72.5% and 82% in the residential and industrial sectors, respectively. Finally, the effect of using repurposed lithium-ion battery packs on the emission rates of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants are surveyed. The reused batteries can be employed to achieve sustainable development.