Current Developments and Challenges in the Recycling of Key Components of (Hybrid) Electric Vehicles

Recycling

Tobias Elwert¹  Daniel Goldmann¹  Felix Römer¹  Matthias Buchert²  Cornelia Merz²  Doris Schueler²  Juergen Sutter² 

[1]Department of Mineral and Waste Processing, Institute of Mineral and Waste Processing, Waste Disposal and Geomechanics, Clausthal University of Technology, Walther-Nernst-Strasse 9, Clausthal-Zellerfeld 38678, Germany

[2] E-Mails:

[3]Division Infrastructure & Enterprises, Oeko-Institut e. V.—Institute for Applied Ecology, Rheinstrasse 95, Darmstadt 64295, Germany

[4] E-Mails:

关键词: electromobility;    recycling;    hybrid electric vehicles;    electric vehicles;    traction batteries;    electric motors;    power electronics;    critical metals;    life cycle assessment;   

DOI  :  10.3390/recycling1010025

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The introduction of electromobility causes major challenges as new components and materials enter vehicle recycling. This paper discusses the current developments in the recycling of traction batteries, electric motors, and power electronics, which constitute the key components of (hybrid) electric vehicles. Both technical and ecological aspects are addressed. Beside base metals, all components contain metals that are considered critical by the EU (European Union), e.g., rare earth elements, cobalt, antimony, and palladium. As electromobility is a new trend, no recycling routes have been established at an industrial scale for these components. The implementation is complicated by small return flows and a great variety of vehicle concepts as well as components. Furthermore, drastic changes regarding design and material compositions can be expected over the next decades. Due to hazards and high weights, there is a strong research emphasis on battery recycling. Most pilot-scale or semi-industrial processes focus on the recovery of cobalt, nickel, and copper due to their high value. Electric motors and power electronics can be fed into established recycling routes if they are extracted from the vehicle before shredding. However, these processes are not capable of recovering some minor metals such as rare earth elements and antimony.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.