Circular economy

Example

Use in Lemonergy

Distinguish recovered material from a qualified product.

This is a reference concept. No executable Lemonergy block has been verified for this term.

Connected concepts

Related concepts from the knowledge graph. Connections show context, not cause and effect. Hover or focus a linked term for its definition.

Design for recycling

Choosing pack and cell constructions — bolted rather than glued modules, labelled chemistries, no potting — that make end-of-life dismantling fast and safe. It trades a little production convenience for a large saving at the recycler.

EU Battery Regulation

The European law, in force since 2023, that governs batteries over their whole life: carbon-footprint declarations, recycled-content minimums, due diligence on raw materials, performance and durability requirements, removability, the battery passport and collection and recycling targets.

Battery recycling

Recovering lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and aluminium from end-of-life cells and production scrap. Scrap is today’s main feedstock; vehicle returns will dominate in the 2030s, and regulation now sets minimum recovery rates.

Second life

Using vehicle packs that have reached their automotive end of life, with 70–80 % capacity left, in less demanding stationary storage before recycling. Grading the used cells and the liability for them are the practical obstacles.

References & further reading

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

1. Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling

   U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

   Topic background · Battery construction, recycling routes and U.S. waste-management context.

2. Recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles

   Gavin Harper et al. · Nature · 2019

   Topic background · Reuse, disassembly and mechanical, hydro-, pyro- and direct recycling routes.