Circular economy and battery recycling

Automated dismantling of battery packs

The circular economy in electromobility

Nurturing a circular economy instead of a throwaway society

Re-using, remanufacturing and recycling

The absolute consumption of raw materials in industrialized countries is placing too high a burden on the environment. One of the global sustainability goals is to ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns and to significantly reduce the demand for resources. The circular economy offers an opportunity to decouple growth from the consumption of non-renewable raw materials.

A modern circular economy relies heavily on the prevention, recycling, energy recovery and safe disposal of waste. The aim is to close material cycles where possible and eliminate harmful substances in order to reintroduce waste into the economic cycle as secondary raw materials. The effective utilization of waste as a valuable raw material helps to conserve natural resources.

We can make a significant contribution to the circular economy by already taking into account reuse, repair and recycling in the design and manufacturing process of products.

The importance of batteries in the circular economy

Against the backdrop of climate-neutral mobility, the automotive sector is currently undergoing an extensive transformation.

The increasing demand for battery electric vehicles raises questions about the ecological footprint of vehicle batteries, but also about the safety and availability of raw materials and thus the competitiveness of the German and European industry.

Regardless of whether battery parts are to be reused or recycled, dismantling the battery systems is the first essential step in all common process routes.

Dismantling of high-voltage batteries

As the components are usually separated manually, dismantling the battery system has to date been time-consuming and expensive as there are still low return quantities and many different variants.

Source image: Volkswagen AG

First pilot system for dismantling high-voltage batteries

As one of the industry pioneers, Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH supplied a system for the automated dismantling of high-voltage battery systems to the Open Hybrid LabFactory (OHLF) research campus in Wolfsburg as part of the BMBF-funded joint project “ZIRKEL”.

In addition to the ability to separate joints, the system is equipped with handling technologies for the removal and sorted transfer of dismantled components into specially-provided containers.

Dismantling focuses on components that have a high recycling value and are installed multiple times in the battery system.

With the help of this system, it is possible to develop new approaches for highly automated dismantling and to derive guidelines and recommendations for recyclable product design.

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