End-of-life management of electric vehicle batteries utilizing the life cycle assessment

To achieve sustainable development in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, this study assesses the environmental impacts of retired electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) throughout the life cycle. The life cycle assessment (LCA) with the ReCiPe method is implemented with environmental impacts: CO_2eq emissions, human toxicity, terrestrial acidification, particulate matter (PM) formation, metal depletion, and fossil depletion. Four EOL management scenarios, namely the landfilling, remanufacturing, repurposing, and recycling processes, are examined with the background data obtained from the Ecoinvent database v3.6 and data collected from secondary sources. The study results reveal that the landfilling scenario is highly harmful to humans and due to its highest environmental impacts, specifically CO2 emission (2,236 kg CO_2eq) from the material extraction process. In contrast, the recycling scenario is the most environmentally friendly scenario, as it reduces the human toxicity (45,934 kg 1,4-DB_eq), terrestrial acidification (425 kg SO_2eq), and metal depletion (20,129 kg Fe_eq), achieving the lowest final impact score of -277. The study further examines the recycling scenario with different energy mixes, i.e. natural gas, coal, and renewable energy. The results suggest that the complete use of renewable energy could improve the final impact value to -281.1. The results also recommend the remanufacturing scenario as it reduces CO_2eq emission by 1,193 kg CO_2eq. The government may utilize the study results to enhance the circular economy of retired EVBs through various strategies to compete in the global market. A comprehensive evaluation of EOL management practices of retired EVBs offers valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders to minimize the ecological footprint of the EV industry and support Thailand's sustainability goals. A future study may be performed to compare the EOL management scenarios with actual practices and suggest suitable improvements. The policy-based simulations could be implemented to examine long-term impacts of EOL management practices in Thailand.Implications: This study examines the end-of-life management of electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) through remanufacturing, repurposing, and recycling scenarios. The results show that the recycling scenario is the most effective EOL strategy for retired EVBs as it generates the lowest human toxicity, terrestrial acidification, and metal depletion. Alternatively, the remanufacturing scenario is the most suitable scenario when CO2eq emission is a major concern. The results also recommend at least half of renewable energy to be used in electricity production to improve the final impact of this study.