LRP-Based Design of Sustainable Recycling Network for Electric Vehicle Batteries

Driven by energy shortages and climate concerns, the electric vehicles are popular around the world with their energy-saving and environmentally friendly advantages. As electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) mainly use lithium batteries, and the batteries’ performance decreases with the increase of charging times, a large number of batteries are entering the end-of-life (EoL) stage. Recycling and reuse of EVBs are effective ways to reduce environmental pollution and promote resources utilization and is now a top priority. Building a recycling network is the foundation of battery recycling. However, there are few studies on battery recycling networks and the construction of recycling networks is expensive, which impedes the sustainable development of electric vehicles. Based on this, recycling network design is critical for EVB recycling. This paper first analyzes three strategies to deal with used batteries: remanufacturing, reuse, and recycling materials. Secondly, an EVB recycling network model is developed with the objective of minimizing the total cost and carbon emissions. The model solves the problem of siting the centers in the network and the vehicle routing in the recycling process. Finally, the model was applied to GEM (a Chinese company dedicated to circular economy) and validated using a greedy algorithm. In addition, the results show that logistics costs and operating costs account for the majority of the recycling network total expense, at 48.45% and 31%, respectively. Therefore, if companies want to further reduce the cost of EVB recycling, they should reduce logistics costs and operating costs. In summary, this paper provides a decision-making approach for EVB recycling enterprises to carry out recycling and reuse, and offers advice on how to promote the sustainable economic and environmental development of the electric vehicle battery industry.