Circular Economy CircuBAT Research Project: More Sustainability at All Stages of the Battery's Life Cycle

Over a period of four years, seven Swiss research institutions and 24 companies have been working on how to exploit the technical and economic potential of a circular economy for batteries. The results of the CircuBAT research project are now being presented.

Although electric vehicles are regarded as an irrefutable means of implementing climate-friendly mobility, their ecological footprint has considerable potential for improvement. The battery in particular, as the largest component of an electric vehicle, plays an important role as a lever. This is where the CircuBAT research project comes in. In the CircuBAT project, BFH has the role of leading house. Under the leadership of the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), Empa, the Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM), the University of St. Gallen (HSG), the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences OST, the Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne (SIPBB) and the EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne) took part in the project. A total of 24 companies from business and industry are involved, ranging from materials specialists and manufacturing companies to users and suppliers of electric vehicles. These include the Bern Economic Development Agency, Upvolt, Indrivetec, the Swiss Association for Standardization, Société Mont-Soleil, the Swiss Auto Recycling Foundation, Imerys Graphite & Carbon, iBAT, ESM, Swiss Energypark, Sun2wheel, BKW Energie, Bühler, Librec, Leclanché, Thömus, Touring Club Swiss, Greencubes, Swiss Post, FPT, Lidl, E-Force One, Kyburz and Mobility Cooperative.

Thanks to the combination of science and industry, the project covers all stages of a battery's life and the solutions developed have been tested in application. Several are about to be launched on the market or are being pursued in follow-up projects and start-ups, according to those involved in the project.

Where Is the Key to the Circular Economy?

As part of CircuBAT, the Swiss Battery Technology Center (SBTC) of the SIPBB focused on the development of technologies for the automated dismantling of batteries from electromobility. Because vehicle batteries have not yet been standardized or designed for dismantling, their dismantling requires a high degree of flexibility and intelligence. The SBTC therefore opted for an AI-supported approach that supports the recognition of different battery architectures and the control of robotics. In collaboration with Bern University of Applied Sciences, the SBTC also investigated how future battery systems can be better designed in terms of circular value creation - from construction to the recycling process.

Extend Battery Life

In the CircuBAT project, the partners looked for solutions to improve sustainability at all stages of the life of lithium-ion batteries. This includes extending the service life of the batteries in their first application. This was achieved using an interactive Battery Expert system. This allows the ageing of various batteries to be compared intuitively. New concepts for the construction of batteries were also developed to make repairs easier. Furthermore, batteries are to be used as stationary energy storage devices after their initial application in mobility. In the project

Optimization strategies for the safe and efficient operation of multiple, differently degraded battery packs were implemented in a control system. Finally, the researchers developed automated solutions for sub-steps in de-manufacturing and new processes for direct material recovery so that the secondary raw materials can be added to the production of new batteries and other applications. In addition to these technical issues, the project also developed the Swiss circular economy model for lithium-ion batteries, thanks to which future volumes, for example for the Swiss second-life battery market, can be estimated. (se)