A Preliminary Techno-Economic and Environmental Performance Analysis of Using Second-Life EV Batteries in an Industrial Application

The number of decommissioned batteries is increasing worldwide, and this growth also reflects the high demand of traction batteries employed in electric vehicles (EV). Therefore, the option to use second-life batteries from EVs is a global challenge for protecting the environment and promoting circular economy (CE) development. The industrial sector is increasingly implementing the CE principles in their business models to reach more efficient utilization of resources and sustainable businesses. Recent studies focused on the link between CE and climate change, highlighting the potential positive effects of CE eco-innovations on climate change mitigation. The present study aims to promote the transition to a circular open-loop economy for second-life batteries derived from EVs, evaluating the techno-economic performance and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) associated to the integration of a battery energy storage system (BESS), made of spent batteries, serving a ball mill machine in a ceramic manufacturing plant. In particular, the average GHGs derived from the Italian electricity mix, in a midweek day, have been considered, assessing hourly emissions. This innovative approach is particularly suited for analyzing renewable energies intermittency. To this purpose, three different scenarios were modeled: Scenario 1, with no BESS; Scenario 2, with a second-life BESS with power grid support; and Scenario 3, with the second-life BESS combined with a standalone PV system. Results showed how the use or non-use of the BESS involves similar daily emissions (111.94 kgCO2eq and 111.69 kgCO2eq for Scenario 1 and Scenario 2, respectively) and costs (74.69 € and 73.05 € for Scenario 1 and Scenario 2, respectively). On the other hand, the use of green energy from the PV panel (Scenario 3) represents the best option for obtaining significant GHGs reduction and economic savings, decreasing both by approximatively 22% in respect to other scenarios, with an annual saving of approximatively 5,916 €. These outcomes suggest that the investment for a second-life BESS, serving a machine such as the ball mill, would imply economic and environmental benefits, as well as advantages from the grid side, enabling load levelling. As a consequence, governments may promote the use of BESS through incentives and, consequently, reducing the payback period.