From Safety to Circularity – Robotics for Design and Disassembly
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.
Volvo Cars, one of the partners in DIJON, also highlights the importance of developing more efficient and scalable approaches for future battery recycling.
“Battery recycling is absolutely essential for the future of a circular automotive industry, and to succeed we need to develop methods that make the process more automated and more efficient. This is an area where practical knowledge truly makes a difference,” says Anna Hägg, Technical Expert, Battery Sustainability at Volvo Cars.
A testbed built for real-world challenges
RISE already operates a test environment where industrial development projects and large-scale 3D printing with industrial robots are carried out. To address the questions related to disassembly and automation, the testbed is now being expanded to better meet these needs. By increasing the capacity with a second robot, new opportunities are created to develop and test circular production processes based on the results 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 upgraded testbed, we can work faster and handle larger and more complex geometries than before. One robot can, for example, hold the component while the other performs the printing, enabling the combination of materials in new ways, the integration of sensors, and post-processing such as heat treatment or milling directly within the process,” says Krister Essvik, researcher at RISE, who together with Oscar Andersson has led the work to extend the functionality of the testbed.
"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 like this, such questions can be identified before major investments are made, reducing the risk of unexpected obstacles when transitioning to production,” continues Oscar Andersson.
Applications beyond batteries
The capacity ranges from small-scale trials to components in megacasting format, with the first full-scale tests planned for spring 2026. The technology and knowledge developed for the disassembly of battery packs have potential far beyond the battery industry. Complex products in the automotive sector, machinery manufacturing, and other industries face the same challenge: combining robust designs with the demands 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.
