Abstract:

To counter the increasing challenges arising from severe air pollution and climate change, a large-scale shift from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) is considered one of the effective solutions to decarbonise the transport sector. However, accelerating the shift to electric vehicles requires a robust battery ecosystem in place. Under the Nationally Determined Contributions-Transport Initiative for Asia (NDC TIA) India Component of the regional programme, the study “Battery Ecosystem: A Global Overview, Gap Analysis in Indian context, and Way Forward for Ecosystem Development” was initiated by GIZ India and carried out by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP. The objective of the study is to ensure the sustainability of traction battery supply chain through a multi-stakeholder approach. Published in May 2022, the first report under the study examined the status quo of traction batteries used in e-mobility applications. The report documented the current scenario of sourcing, manufacturing, assembling, reuse, and recycling of traction batteries in both Indian and global scenario.

Traction batteries undergo considerable degradation owing to extreme operating temperatures, changing discharge rates, and many partial cycles mainly in the first five years of their life. Traction batteries are designed to have a first life of ~10 years. Even after reaching end-of-first life, the batteries can still be reused/reconditioned/refurbished/repurposed for use in second life applications before being recycling or end-of-life disposal. Hence, this report intends to establish the environmental benefits of battery reuse, review models which can determine the fitness of batteries for battery reuse and establish the economic feasibility of battery reuse as a business.