Second Life for the Batteries from Electric Cars

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CIIRC CTU, PRAHA

With the growing number of electric cars, the question arises as to how to deal with obsolete batteries. Currently used recycling methods are expensive and uneconomical. The project of the Slovak company ZTS – VÝSKUM A VÝVOJ, a.s., which has chosen the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics as its strategic partner, comes up with an effective and sustainable solution. It consists of evaluating the condition of individual battery modules and their so-called retrofitting using advanced automation and artificial intelligence. The project is part of the IPCEI – ie significant projects of common European interest.

Batteries from electric cars, which have to be replaced after a few years of use due to their reduced capacity, are at best doomed for recycling by crushing or heating in arc furnaces. The material obtained, which may be iron, manganese or zinc, is further used, for example, in the steel industry. However, we cannot talk about recycling in the true sense of the word, because you will no longer produce a battery from a used battery.

Thanks to retrofitting, ie regeneration of batteries from electric cars, already used batteries gain a second life and can serve well in places where their lower capacity is not a serious problem. The Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics (CIIRC) is preparing a concept for a modular and flexible factory and a study of robotic battery disassembly for the Slovak ZTS VV plant.

CIIRC CTU, PRAHA

According to experts, half of the cars in the EU will be electric by 2030, so it is necessary to respond now and prepare energy and cost-effective solutions for recycling batteries from these cars,“ says doc. Petr Kadera, head of the Intelligent Systems for Industry group at CIIRC CTU, who deals with the design of the concept of the future factory. „In our design, we emphasize the flexibility of the entire process. New types of batteries are being added continuously, and the robotic production line must be able to cope with most of them,” explains Kadera the solution for the new factory.

„The project is an application of Industry 4.0 and is conceptually based on distributed production, where there is no fixed production plan. Depending on the different types of batteries and their condition, the production line responds dynamically to the current situation and the final product combines modules with different life states. Such a battery will find application as a stationary battery, for example in hydroelectric power plants, where it will serve as an energy storage in case of its surplus,“ explains Professor Vladimír Mařík, scientific director of CIIRC CTU and one of the Czech pioneers of Industry 4.0.

CIIRC CTU, PRAHA

„Dismantling lithium-ion battery systems from automotive applications is a complex and therefore time-consuming and costly process. Batteries have a complicated design and contain a number of flexible – unique components. The chemicals in the batteries also pose a potential danger during the disassembly process. All these aspects must be taken into account when developing a dismantling line. We must also think about the constant development of batteries and thus also the new parameters of future models,“ says the chairman of the board of ZTS VV and project leader Stanislav Králik.

Flexible distributed production, advanced automation and artificial intelligence are not only suitable tools for increasing the added value and efficiency of production, but also find significant application in the field of sustainability and circular economy.

The project is included and supported by the IPCEI call, ie projects classified by the European Union as important projects of common interest. A project of common interest means a project that is necessary for the implementation of priority corridors and areas of energy infrastructure, is intended to contribute to the development of networks in individual corridors and is included in the Union list of projects of common interest.

CIIRC CTU, PRAHA

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