A Cost Analysis of Electric Vehicle Batteries Second Life Businesses

Abstract

In the following years thousands of electric cars are expected to be sold. Knowing that their batteries cannot be used for traction services after they have lost a 20 % of its capacity, there will be thousands of batteries available for re-use. The re-use represents a considerable environmental improvement compared to the immediate recycling. According to battery recycling enterprises, not even half of them are collected back after being used and car manufacturers should ensure that their electric vehicle batteries will be correctly processed. A second life added value might help for a better deposition and management control. Although interesting, the second life re-use is not simple. Vehicles should first arrive to the dispersed authorized processing centers in the country. Once there, batteries should be extracted, packed according to legal regulations and transported to the restoration plant, where they will be tested, their components revised and they will be prepared for the second life application. All this implies personnel, transport, installation amortization and spare part costs. This work will present how appropriate the idea of the battery recovery for second life applications is.