Facilitating Circularity in the Lithium-ion Battery Value Chain by Designing for Recycling
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Industrial design engineering (MPDES), MSc
Publicerad
2021
Författare
Lunde, Petronella
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
Lithium-ion batteries push electrification forward, and the volume rapidly increases on a
global scale. The growing demand adds pressure to obtain materials such as cobalt, nickel,
manganese, and lithium —the most critical compounds of cell chemistry and not carefree
materials from a sustainability view. The increasing demand may also add pressure on
recycling and material recovery in order to secure the scarce and valuable materials.
However, there are difficulties in recycling lithium-ion batteries today due to battery pack
constructions which may prevent material recovery. These issues risk following into the
future if actions are not taken.
This master's thesis investigates the lithium-ion battery pack construction from an industrial
design engineering approach by integrating the topic with circular design strategies. The
focus of the study is electric vehicle batteries on the European market. The lithium-ion
battery constraints and the value chain are explored to empathize with the subject
holistically. The aim is to promote circularity by facilitating recycling to reduce
environmental impacts and minimize the value-loss at the product's end-of-life. Therefore,
the thesis collects facilitating factors for recycling lithium-ion batteries and compiles them
into design guidelines for use in the design phase. Based on the fact that 80% of a
product's total environmental impact is determined at the design phase, including the
product's recyclability.
- ”Problem är vår uppgift; vi tar itu med dem för att överleva eller för att förbättra
världen, och därför är det bättre att se dem i vitögat än att titta bort, gömma undan
dem och förneka dem. Att se problemen i vitögat kan vara en hoppfull handling,
men bara om man kommer ihåg att de inte är det enda som finns”.
- Rebecka Solnit, 2017
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
: Design for Recycling; Eco-Design; Circular Economy; Lithium-ion Battery Value Chain; Lithium-ion Batter Recycling; Lithium-ion Module Pack Design