Disassembly methods of joints for circular battery packs

The electrification of the transport sector has led to a dramatic increase in battery production for electric vehicles and is also expected to continue to grow exponentially in the coming decades. To enable circularity in the electric vehicle battery industry, extra attention must be paid to the reuse, remanufacturing and recycling aspects of the battery pack. The battery pack must therefore be designed according to a new approach. More specifically, the joints in the battery pack must be manufactured so that they can be taken apart, disassembled and then rejoined, reassembled, if necessary. Until now, the joints have been designed as permanent and without sufficient focus on disassembly, reassembly and recycling.

The project addresses adhesive joints, mechanical joints and thermal joints. The goal of the project is to develop new joint design solutions, including disassembly and reassembly methods that enable a circular flow of next-generation electric vehicle battery packs. In addition to evaluating methods for circularity potential, these methods are also evaluated for their potential for automation for large-scale and efficient disassembly processes. In addition, the methods are evaluated with regard to the health and safety of operators to enable clean and safe processes. The evaluation is primarily carried out through experimental lab tests and the project results will be distributed to the partners through design handbooks that can be used in the development of next-generation battery packs. The project has brought together several relevant industry partners who together represent the majority of the battery pack value chain.