Robust constructions are essential for safety. Circularity, however, requires products that can be taken apart. Wherever these requirements coincide, the same challenge emerges: how can they be combined without compromise?
A battery pack in an electric vehicle must withstand vibration, moisture and crash forces throughout its lifetime. This requires strong joints and sealed enclosures. Yet the same features that ensure safety in use can make disassembly for repair or recycling significantly more difficult.
This challenge – balancing performance with disassemblability – is not unique to batteries. It appears across industries where safety, durability and circularity need to align. Robotics and automation may provide an important part of the solution.
“Robotics enables both the design and verification of solutions for circular production. By combining sensors, image analysis and AI, we can begin to understand how products can be built so they can also be taken apart,” says Oscar Andersson, researcher at RISE.
Robotics enables both the design and verification of solutions for circular production. By combining sensors, image analysis and AI, we can begin to understand how products can be built so they can also be taken apart
From design guidance to practical testing
Within the DIJON project (Disassembly of joints for circular battery packs), methods are being developed for how battery packs can be designed and joined to support service, repair and end-of-life processes. The work, carried out by RISE together with industrial and research partners, will result in a design handbook offering practical guidance based on the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework.
"The handbook provides principles for designing for disassembly. The next step is to verify this in practice: can the product actually be taken apart efficiently? Which tools are required? How long does it take? Which steps can be automated? These are questions that need answers before industry makes decisions on product design or related investments. This is why we have created a test environment that can address these questions," says Oscar Andersson.
A testbed built for real-world challenges
RISE already operates a test environment for industrial development projects and large-scale 3D printing with industrial robots. To address the questions surrounding automated disassembly, the RAIDS testbed (Robot Automated Industrial Disassembly System) is now being expanded. With the addition of a second robot, new opportunities are opening for testing circular production processes based on insights from DIJON.
With two cooperating robots, companies can explore how different design choices affect the disassembly process and how variation in product condition can be managed. A tool changer enables rapid transitions between processes such as printing, screwing, milling, riveting or scanning, supporting method comparisons and identification of cost-effective approaches.
"With the new testbed, we can work more quickly and handle larger and more complex geometries than before. One robot can, for example, hold the component while the other performs printing, making it possible to combine materials in new ways, integrate sensors, and carry out post-processing such as heat treatment or milling directly within the process," says Krister Essvik, researcher at RISE.
"When handling batteries, the robots can take over tasks that involve contact with residual charge or chemicals, making the process both safer and more controlled. Sensor technologies, AI and image analysis will also be used to support automated disassembly – techniques that contribute to more consistent processes and can reduce costs by lowering the need for manual programming," continues Krister Essvik.
Scaling up requires more than robots
Transitioning from testing to production involves more than investing in equipment. Technologies must be robust and adaptable, operators need to understand when and how to intervene, and organisations must be prepared to adopt new workflows and ensure knowledge transfer between development and operations.
When automated processes meet real production environments, unexpected situations often arise: How should variation be managed? Which decisions can operators make autonomously, and when should a process be stopped? The interaction between people, technology and organisational structures is often decisive for whether automation delivers its expected benefits.
"In test environments such as RAIDS, these questions can be identified before larger investments are made, reducing the risk of unexpected obstacles during the transition to production," continues Oscar Andersson.
Applications beyond batteries
RAIDS supports testing from small components up to megacasting-scale structures, with full-scale demonstrations planned for spring 2026. The knowledge developed for battery pack disassembly has potential well beyond the battery sector. Complex products in automotive, machinery manufacturing and other industries face similar challenges: combining robust constructions with requirements for sustainable and resource-efficient life cycles.
"By combining materials expertise with practical testing of robotised processes, industry can develop and verify solutions for circular products – from design and construction to assembly, disassembly and recycling. Robotics is now a key enabler for making circularity practically and economically feasible," concludes Oscar Andersson.
Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) is an EU framework intended to ensure that sustainability considerations and human health and environmental risks are assessed early in product development. The aim is to design materials, processes and products that minimise impacts throughout their life cycle.
DIJON (Disassembly of joints for circular battery packs) is a collaborative project in which RISE works together with Volvo Cars, Polestar, ABB, Atlas Copco, Stena Recycling, University West and Swerim to develop methods for circular battery pack design. The project is funded by Vinnova within FFI.
