Reuse of Retired Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) for Electric Vehicles (EVs) from the Perspective of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Taiwan

Abstract

Over the last 50 years since Whittingham created the world’s first lithium-ion battery (LIB) in 1970, LIBs have continued to develop and have become mainstream for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. However, when an LIB for an EV reaches 80% of its state of health (SOH), although it still retains about 80% of its capacity, it is no longer suitable for use in general EVs and must be retired. This is problematic because not only is a retired LIB still viable for use and not totally obsolete, if not properly disposed of, a retired LIB may cause environmental pollution on top of being a waste of resources. Therefore, the reuse of retired LIBs from EVs is increasingly important. This paper uses circular economy (CE) and extended producer responsibility (EPR) as a theoretical basis to deal with the disposal of retired LIBs from EVs in Taiwan from legal, technical, and economic perspectives, and hopes to provide suggestions for the reuse of retired LIBs from EVs in Taiwan.