Battery Supply Chain Research Articles

Dynamic decisions in an electric vehicle battery supply chain under co-opetition

Co-opetition plays an important role in decision-making of the supply chain. This paper investigates an electric vehicle battery (EV battery) supply chain containing one manufacturer and two competing retailers. We construct three retailer co-opetition models and characterize equilibrium results using differential game theory and Bellman’s optimality principle. By comparing and analyzing the wholesale price, retail prices, technology investment and quality level of batteries, we explore the influence of retailer co-opetition on supply chain dynamic decisions. The results show that: (1) the enhancement of the technology investment will lead to the improvement of each decision; (2) the cooperation between one retailer and the manufacturer benefits the supply chain extremely; (3) the cooperation between two retailers is detrimental to the consumer utility.

A Comparison of Electric Vehicle Industry Policies Between China and The United States

Against the background of global vehicle market fluctuations, the annual sales of global electric vehicles continued to grow, showing a good development trend. In the global EV industry, China is the leader in the power battery supply chain, EV production, charger installation, etc. The U.S. is overall ranked third. After the background illustration and industry policy sorting, the paper illustrates the different top-level national EV industry strategy designs in China and the U.S., then compares the 2 countries’ policies from the dimensions of fiscal policies, R&D policies (focusing on battery development), and supporting infrastructure construction. The analysis shows that in the development of batteries and the construction of supporting infrastructure (charger), compared with China’s policies, the overall policy planning of the United States lacks coherence and central authority, and the development of its battery industry lacks the cooperation of enterprises under the leadership of the central government. The 2 countries have different preferences in fiscal and taxation policies, and the credit system represented by California Zero Emission Vehicle in the U.S. is more flexible and spontaneously guided than China's.

EV Battery Supply Chain Impacts for Friend-shoring and Reshoring of South Korean Companies

The global electric vehicle (EV) industry is focusing on strengthening the resilience and security of the EV battery supply chain, particularly due to China's dominant position in anode and cathode production. South Korean companies have initiated reshoring strategies, exemplified by the recent reopening of a cathode plant in Texas, to reduce their reliance on China. This paper discusses the implications of South Korea's reshoring efforts and explores the potential for establishing mutually beneficial, reconfigured supply chains between the U.S. and South Korea. It also emphasizes the significance of considering geopolitical events in supply chain modeling to enhance resilience and introduces a geopolitical risk model accounting for both reshoring and friend-shoring scenarios.

How the external environment affects the equilibrium decisions and profits of battery and EV manufacturers?

With the rapid development of the electric vehicle (EV) industry, the problem has emerged of how to properly recycle and reuse retired EV batteries. The efficiency of battery disassembly is therefore the key factor affecting the battery’s potential for recovery. When a manufacturer considers efficiency of disassembly as an aspect of new EV battery design, it can save disassembly costs when the battery is retired, creating an incentive for used battery recycling and echelon utilization. This paper aims to promote the echelon utilization of used batteries and explore how the impact of external market environments influences decisions within the supply chain. This paper introduces a supply chain model including battery manufacturers who determine the level of battery disassembly design and EV manufacturers responsible for recycling waste batteries. Research findings indicate that when battery manufacturers consider disassembly design, both battery and EV manufacturers can enhance profitability while aligning with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements. The proposed cost-sharing contract demonstrates that the profitability of both parties improves when the cost-sharing coefficient between them remains sufficiently low. To ensure the sustainable development of the EV industry, battery and EV manufacturers must bolster their cooperation. Additionally, they should foster a favorable market environment and actively support the establishment of more recycling enterprises. This approach will heighten consumer awareness of recycling incentives and necessitate certain subsidies for low-capacity battery trading. This study contributes valuable theoretical insights for battery manufacturers and supply chain decision-makers by analyzing the influence of external factors on the battery recycling supply chain.

Assessing the Impacts of Domestic Lithium Processing Capacity Expansion on the Battery Supply Chain

Today, lithium-ion batteries are vital to society due to the global shift toward renewable energy sources and electric mobility. Lithium batteries' sustainability, availability, and resilience have become key concerns as a critical component of electric vehicles and energy storage systems. This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the impacts associated with domestic lithium processing capacity expansion on the broader battery supply chain.

Estimating the environmental impacts of global lithium-ion battery supply chain: A temporal, geographical, and technological perspective.

A sustainable low-carbon transition via electric vehicles will require a comprehensive understanding of lithium-ion batteries' global supply chain environmental impacts. Here, we analyze the cradle-to-gate energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of current and future nickel-manganese-cobalt and lithium-iron-phosphate battery technologies. We consider existing battery supply chains and future electricity grid decarbonization prospects for countries involved in material mining and battery production. Currently, around two-thirds of the total global emissions associated with battery production are highly concentrated in three countries as follows: China (45%), Indonesia (13%), and Australia (9%). On a unit basis, projected electricity grid decarbonization could reduce emissions of future battery production by up to 38% by 2050. An aggressive electric vehicle uptake scenario could result in cumulative emissions of 8.1 GtCO2eq by 2050 due to the manufacturing of nickel-based chemistries. However, a switch to lithium iron phosphate-based chemistry could enable emission savings of about 1.5 GtCO2eq. Secondary materials, via recycling, can help reduce primary supply requirements and alleviate the environmental burdens associated with the extraction and processing of materials from primary sources, where direct recycling offers the lowest impacts, followed by hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 61, 51, and 17%, respectively. This study can inform global and regional clean energy strategies to boost technology innovations, decarbonize the electricity grid, and optimize the global supply chain toward a net-zero future.

Developing Pricing Strategy in a Closed-Loop Supply Chain for Electric Vehicle Batteries With a Government Reward and Punishment Mechanism

Electric vehicles are expected to become a major means of transportation in the future, but entail the challenge of collecting used electric vehicle batteries. This article examines pricing strategies in a closed-loop dual-channel supply chain for electric vehicle batteries both with and without a governmental reward and punishment mechanism. The discussion considers the optimal pricing strategy considering the competition between dual collecting channels, both with the government's reward and punishment mechanism and without it. The degree of influence of government mechanisms, echelon utilization, and EV battery collection on a) collection price, b) collection capacity, and c) the profit obtained by participants are also examined. The discussion shows that collection capacity, collection price, and recycler profits in the closed-loop EV battery supply chain could be improved with a government reward and punishment mechanism. Finally, the robustness of the proposed model was verified through numerical examples.

Closing the Loop on LIB Waste: A Comparison of the Current Challenges and Opportunities for the U.S. and Australia towards a Sustainable Energy Future

Many countries have started their transition to a net-zero economy. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) play an ever-increasing role towards this transition as a rechargeable energy storage medium. Initially, LIBs were developed for consumer electronics and portable devices but have seen dramatic growth in their use in electric vehicles (EVs) and via the gradual uptake in battery energy storage systems (BESSs) over the last decade. As such, critical metals (Li, Co, Ni, and Mn) and chemicals (polymers, electrolytes, Cu, Al, PVDF, LiPF6, LiBF4, and graphite) needed for LIBs are currently in great demand and are susceptible to global supply shortages. Dramatic increases in raw material prices, coupled with predicted exponential growth in global demand (e.g., United States graphite demand from 2022 7000 t to ~145,000 t), means that LIBs will not be sustainable if only sourced from raw materials. LIBs degrade over time. When their performance can no longer meet the requirement of their intended application (e.g., EVs in the 8–12 year range), opportunities exist to extract and recover battery materials for re-use in new batteries or to supply other industrial chemical sectors. This paper compares the challenges, barriers, opportunities, and successes of the United States of America and Australia as they transition to renewable energy storage and develop a battery supply chain to support a circular economy around LIBs.

Lithium, Brexit and Global Britain: Onshoring battery production networks in the UK

As demand for electrical energy storage scales, production networks for lithium-ion battery manufacturing are being re-worked organisationally and geographically. The UK - like the US and EU - is seeking to onshore lithium-ion battery production and build a national battery supply chain. Governmental, industrial and research actors are engaged in securing battery mineral materials and developing battery manufacturing capacity, in the context of the country's exit from the EU and a perceived ‘global battery race’ in which geopolitical goals shape links with new and old partners. We identify the primary global networks of lithium mining and refining, battery chemical production, technology development and finance in which the UK's battery manufacturing capacity are increasingly embedded. We foreground the role of the UK state, and how it has sought to assemble discrete capacities in automobile manufacturing, battery R&D, materials chemistry, minerals exploration, mining and green finance into a national battery sector. We mobilise a Global Production Network (GPN) perspective to highlight the cross-border geographical and organisational structures through which onshoring is taking place. We extend GPN research on the role of the state by showing how the UK's growing lithium networks intersect with a plural and differentiated state accumulation project of green industrial transformation. We outline the selective nature of this state accumulation project, highlight instances of coupling creation as the state seeks to strategically couple regional assets with firms in GPNs, and point to a convergence of industrial and innovation policy characteristic of the entrepreneurial state.

Analysing policy change towards the circular economy at the example of EU battery legislation

Batteries play an important role in the decarbonisation of road transport. By looking at the EU battery legislation from 1991 to 2022, policy change in the subsystem and its underlying drivers is analysed. The advocacy coalition framework is used, with a mixed methods approach combining qualitative document analysis and interviews. A strong increase in circular economy aspects is identified, going beyond the coverage of such aspects in other EU product regulations. Coalitions of industry actors and opposing NGOs are identified, but also a broadening of stakeholders involved and less accentuated boundaries between coalitions over time. Several external events were identified that are likely to have contributed to the alignment of economic and environmental interests towards a domestic and sustainable battery supply chain in the EU. Batteries can serve as a blueprint for other product groups, demonstrating that political and industrial momentum can be used to pursue ambitious environmental policies.

Solvent-Based Electrode Recovery for Direct Recycling of Li-Ion Batteries

The surging demand for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) in electric vehicles and consumer electronics drives the enormous expansion of cell manufacturing globally, resulting in a significant amount of manufacturing scraps and vast stockpiles of spent LIBs in near future. Recycling those waste LIBs and reintegrating the recovered materials into the battery supply chain are becoming critical to build a sustainable battery ecosystem. Cathode active materials (e.g., LiCoO2, NCA, NMC) and anode active materials (e.g., graphite) are tightly adhered to metal current collectors (Al and Cu) through organic binders (e.g., PVDF). Separation of those electrode materials from metal foils is challenging yet an enabling step for the direct recycling of LIBs. In this talk, a simple yet efficient solvent-based recovery process for delaminating electrode films from metal foils will be presented. Because of the absence of harsh chemicals, the recovered electrode films and metal foils are battery grade and free of damage in terms of physical and chemical properties. Additionally, reintroducing the recovered electrode materials into a new loop of cell manufacturing will be discussed. This environmentally friendly and cost-effective separation technique not only presents a closed-loop recycling approach but also greatly advances battery recycling into a new paradigm.

Research on Power Battery Recycling in the Green Closed-Loop Supply Chain: An Evolutionary Game-Theoretic Analysis

The used power batteries of new energy vehicles have become a combined issue of environmental pollution, resource scarcity, and economic sustainability. Power battery recycling is inevitably becoming the key link in the formation of the green closed-loop supply chain for new energy vehicles and the green cycle of the new energy vehicles industry. This study establishes a three-party evolutionary game model of “new energy vehicle manufacturers, power battery manufacturers, and power battery recyclers”, simulates the dynamic evolution process of each game player’s strategy, and analyzes the effects of the digital transformation factor and other factors leading to the evolution trend. The main results show that: (i) in the absence of sufficient incentives and constraints, the green closed-loop power battery supply chain cannot be formed naturally; (ii) digital transformation is an important factor in the journey of the green closed-loop supply chain for power battery recycling, and (iii) government rewards and penalties can promote the formation of the green closed-loop supply chain for power batteries. This research innovatively investigates the concept of the green closed-loop power battery supply chain and its formation mechanism, which provides theoretical support to promote the recycling of used power batteries to achieve sustainability.

Towards a closed loop recycling process of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries: Recovery of critical metals and electrochemical performance evaluation of a regenerated LiCoO2

The growing demand for lithium-ion battery technology emphasizes the critical need to establish effective recycling and proper disposal methods for used batteries, ensuring the long-term sustainability and security of the battery supply chain. This study addresses this need by exploring two hydrochemical routes, using sulfuric acid and nitric acid, respectively. The objective is to investigate the influence of the acid used in the leaching process on the properties of the regenerated final product, LiCoO2. Moreover, a novel and simplified approach for extracting lithium as lithium carbonate is proposed.In evaluating the recycled batteries, careful examination of their physicochemical properties and electrochemical performances reveals striking similarities to batteries produced from commercial sources. This comparison provides evidence of the successful recycling process. By optimizing the leaching conditions, we were able to extract more than 98% of both cobalt and lithium from the used cathode materials of cell phone batteries.Significantly, our study demonstrates that nitric acid offers a straightforward method for separating and obtaining a pure product, surpassing the outcomes achieved with sulfuric acid using the same steps. Additionally, we thoroughly investigate and compare the electrochemical performances of the synthesized cathode materials with those synthesized from pure commercial reagents. This systematic analysis confirms the effectiveness and viability of the proposed recycling process.The key advantage of this approach lies in its ability to achieve a complete recycling of the initial spent cathodic elements, which is crucial for establishing a circular economy. This comprehensive recycling method not only addresses the increasing demand for lithium-ion battery technology but also contributes to the sustainable utilization of resources and the preservation of the battery supply chain's integrity.

Will reshoring manufacturing of advanced electric vehicle battery support renewable energy transition and climate targets?

Recent global logistics and geopolitical challenges draw attention to the potential raw material shortages for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Here, we analyze the long-term energy and sustainability prospects to ensure a secure and resilient midstream and downstream value chain for the U.S. EV battery market amid uncertain market expansion and evolving battery technologies. With current battery technologies, reshoring and ally-shoring the midstream and downstream EV battery manufacturing will reduce the carbon footprint by 15% and energy use by 5 to 7%. While next-generation cobalt-free battery technologies will achieve up to 27% carbon emission reduction, transitioning to 54% less carbon-intensive blade lithium iron phosphate may diminish the mitigation benefits of supply chain restructuring. Our findings underscore the importance of adopting nickel from secondary sources and nickel-rich ores. However, the advantages of restructuring the U.S. EV battery supply chain depend on projected battery technology advancements.

A blockchain-enabled framework for reverse supply chain management of power batteries

The production and sales of electric vehicles in China are continuously increasing, and a massive wave of scrap batteries is about to emerge. However, there are many challenges in the power battery recycling, such as a disorganized recycling system, a lack of standards, and low efficiency. In addition, the power battery recycling supply chain faces issues such as a lack of transparency, inadequate data management, low trustworthiness, and counterfeit products. Therefore, it's crucial to establish an efficient and sustainable power battery supply chain recycling system. Blockchain technology can provide solutions in decentralized data management, privacy protection, and anti-counterfeiting traceability. It addresses existing problems and improves the Power Batteries Reverse Supply Chain (PBRSC) ecosystem. Thus, this paper proposes a blockchain-based PBRSC management integration framework. Firstly, a four-layer blockchain power battery recycling platform is designed. Secondly, based on the proposed PBRSC framework, this paper studies three key component technologies: double-chain structure and its storage mechanism, information tracing module, and smart contract enabled battery trading management. Then, the validity and feasibility of the double-chain structure was demonstrated experimentally. Finally, the above architecture and key technologies are implemented in the system, the main functional modules are displayed on the interface, and the effectiveness of the framework is explained in cooperation with related enterprises.

Electric Vehicle Battery Supply Chain and Critical Materials: A Brief Survey of State of the Art

Electric vehicles (EVs) have been garnering wide attention over conventional fossil fuel-based vehicles due to the serious concerns of environmental pollution and crude oil depletion. In this article, we have conducted a systematic literature survey to explore the battery raw material supply chain, material processing, and the economy behind the commodity price appreciation. We present significant areas of concern, including resource reserves, supply, demand, geographical distribution, battery reuse, and recycling industries. Furthermore, details of the battery supply chain and its associated steps are illustrated. The authors believe the presented study will be an information cornerstone in boosting manufacturing and understanding the key components and materials required to facilitate EV battery production. Further, this study discusses the major industries, and their policies and global market share in each material category.

Unleashing the circular economy in the electric vehicle battery supply chain: A case study on data sharing and blockchain potential

Electric vehicles are perceived as a key technology to make mobility more sustainable, leading to a sharp rise in electric battery production and use. However, electric vehicle batteries are only a sustainable solution if they support decreasing the total impact of the supply chain, which makes circularity initiatives a key element in this transition. Currently, this is limited by the data sharing among actors in the supply chain on critical information needed to support a circular economy approach. In this study we explore how data sharing and information technology support the development of circularity in electric vehicle supply chains and examine the role of blockchain technology to address the circularity needs of battery tracking and capability sharing. To allow a comprehensive analysis, we conduct a case study in the electric vehicle battery supply chain, including companies from multiple tiers to capture all relevant perspectives. The results show that data sharing supports extended value chain activities, evolving from a linear to a circular supply chain perspective. It also indicates that blockchain technology supports removing existing barriers for a circular economy by facilitating transparency and traceability, especially for second-life applications beyond the dominant players in this industry.

Improving Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Information Security by User Behavior Monitoring Algorithm Incorporated in Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning

Cloud enterprise resource planning (Cloud ERP) provides an efficient big data management solution for lithium-ion battery (LiB) enterprises. However, in the open ecological environment, Cloud ERP makes the LiB supply chain face multi-user and multi-subject interactions, which can generate sensitive data and privacy data security issues (such as user override access behavior). In this study, we take the value and information interaction into account to examine the user behaviors of the diverse stakeholders in the LiB supply chain. Therefore, a user behavior monitoring algorithm (UBMA), different from the mainstream supervised algorithms and unsupervised learning algorithms, is proposed to monitor the unsafe behaviors that may threaten data privacy in Cloud ERP. The results show that the UBMA can accurately search out the user behavior sequence where the unsafe behavior is located from a large amount of user behavior information, which reduces the complexity of directly identifying the unsafe behavior. In addition, compared with the recursive unsupervised binary classification method, the UBMA model has a lower resource consumption and higher efficiency. In addition, the UBMA has great flexibility. The UBMA can be further updated and extended by re-establishing the statistical characteristics of the standard user behavior fields to quickly adapt to user changes and function upgrades in the LiB supply chain.

Comparison of lithium-ion battery supply chains – a life cycle sustainability assessment

The increasing number of electric vehicles worldwide leads to various challenges, especially in terms of battery supply chains. New battery production sites, raw material refiners, and extraction sites will be needed to fulfill the future battery demand. Additionally, the planned European Battery Directive requires battery manufacturers to meet defined CO2-limits and social standards to enter the European market. However, depending on the design of battery supply chains, environmental and socio-economic impacts can vary considerably. Especially the selection of suppliers as well as production locations and processes can have a major influence. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate battery supply chain options to highlight the differences and trade-offs related to the three sustainability dimensions. For this purpose, a life cycle sustainability assessment is conducted, considering a baseline scenario depicting the global average production shares, and three additional scenarios to investigate the influence of locations on three processes along the supply chain. The results provide insights into the design of sustainable battery supply chains. It is shown how different locations and battery types affect the indicator scores of the investigated supply chains. Furthermore, the results indicate distinct trade-offs between the three sustainability dimensions and underline the necessity for the subsequent use of multi-criteria decision-making models to derive recommendations for designing sustainable battery supply chains.

Analysis of China's EV Battery Industry and Supply Chain Structure

전기자동차(EV) 시장의 성장과 함께 중국 정부는 EV배터리 산업에 대한 다양한 정책을 추진하고 있다. 2018년 이후 추진된 신규 정책의 대부분은 공급망 전반의 경쟁력 확보와 품질, 생산, 기술역량 확보 등이다. 이에 본 논문에서는 중국의 전기차 배터리 산업 정책 및 공급망 구조와 함께 중국의 배터리 소재 산업별 글로벌 공급업체의 구조적 변화를 분석하였다. 전기차 배터리 시장은 한·중·일 간 치열한 경쟁 속에서 특정 국가가 큰 우위를 선점했다고 단정하기는 아직 어렵다. 그러나, 다수 기업이 선전하고 있는 한국과 중국의 시장점유율 경쟁이 다소 견고해지고 있는 것과 달리 파나소닉만이 고군분투하고 있는 일본의 비중은 감소하는 추세이다. 이에 따라 한국과 중국 간 전기차 배터리 경쟁이 더욱 치열해질 전망이다. 다만, 미국의 대(對)중국 공급망 봉쇄전략이 강화될수록 중국의 자체적인 국내 공급망(DVC) 강화로 이어져 글로벌 공급망 전체에 혼란을 발생시킬 수 있다는 점도 주목할 필요가 있다. 이미 중국 리튬이온전지 공급망 구조에서 국내 공급망이 가장 큰 비중(21.5%)을 차지하고 있기 때문이다. 중국 정부 주도하에 급성장하는 전기차 시장을 더욱 발전시키기 위해 중국은 안정적인 공급망 체계 구축, 배터리산업의 초격차 기술 확보 등 관련 업계 전반에 걸친 적극적인 노력이 계속될 것으로 전망한다.