Exploring key factors to achieve circularity for end-of-life electric vehicle lithium batteries in Australia

Abstract

Globally, there has been an increase in the production and deployment of lithium batteries (LiB). Specifically, this is due to the recent energy transition and electrification of vehicles. However, as the dependence of electric vehicles (EV) continue to increase, a large volume of LiBs are expected to reach end-of-life (EOL) in the coming years. The circular economy approach has been proposed for EOL EV LiBs to intensify the application of products and minimize waste. Circular business models (CBMs) act as a tool to implement this approach and create value-adding opportunities for businesses. However, research focusing on the development of CBMs from an Australian context is sparse. This research aims to explore the Australian context to achieve circularity for EOL EV LiBs from the perspective of key stakeholders within the value chain and identify key strategic outcomes to minimize the disposal of EV LiBs in landfill. The findings revealed that a lack of government policies is a major barrier to achieve circularity for EOL EV LiBs. Additionally, repurposing of EV LiBs faces a greater challenge than recycling. Hence, we propose adopting a repair + reuse + recycle CBM as a suitable outcome to mitigate the concern of EOL EV LiB waste considering the built environment context. Recommendations include involving stakeholders from the government and academia groups to explore the development of CBMs in Australia.