Abstract
Driven by energy shortages and climate concerns, the electric vehicles are popular around the world with their energy-saving and environmentally friendly advantages. As electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) mainly use lithium batteries, and the batteries’ performance decreases with the increase of charging times, a large number of batteries are entering the end-of-life (EoL) stage. Recycling and reuse of EVBs are effective ways to reduce environmental pollution and promote resources utilization and is now a top priority. Building a recycling network is the foundation of battery recycling. However, there are few studies on battery recycling networks and the construction of recycling networks is expensive, which impedes the sustainable development of electric vehicles. Based on this, recycling network design is critical for EVB recycling. This paper first analyzes three strategies to deal with used batteries: remanufacturing, reuse, and recycling materials. Secondly, an EVB recycling network model is developed with the objective of minimizing the total cost and carbon emissions. The model solves the problem of siting the centers in the network and the vehicle routing in the recycling process. Finally, the model was applied to GEM (a Chinese company dedicated to circular economy) and validated using a greedy algorithm. In addition, the results show that logistics costs and operating costs account for the majority of the recycling network total expense, at 48.45% and 31%, respectively. Therefore, if companies want to further reduce the cost of EVB recycling, they should reduce logistics costs and operating costs. In summary, this paper provides a decision-making approach for EVB recycling enterprises to carry out recycling and reuse, and offers advice on how to promote the sustainable economic and environmental development of the electric vehicle battery industry.
Highlights
One of the major causes of global warming is the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by humans
The cost breakdown of the example results shows that logistics costs account for the majority of the recycling network, with operational costs coming in second
In order to reduce the cost of electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) recycling, reducing logistics costs and operating costs are the most effective strategy
Summary
One of the major causes of global warming is the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by humans. Some developed countries have already announced a total ban on the sales of combustion vehicles within the 20 years. Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in the EVB market because of their advantage in terms of high specific energy, high efficiency, and long life [7]. The raw materials used to manufacture EVB, such as manganese, nickel, and cobalt, are harmful to the environment. They leach into soil and water sources when they are disposed of directly in landfills, causing irreversible damage to the ecological environment [9]. With the rapid growth of the electric vehicle market and the widespread application of lithium-ion batteries, a huge number of batteries are coming to their end-of-life. The proper disposal of end-of-life EVB with minimum impact on the environment and maximum utilization of resources is the top priority
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