Second Life of Electric Vehicle Lithium-Ion Batteries from a Sustainable Business Model Perspective

The exponential growth in electric vehicles (EV) sales has created a challenge of managing the amount of end of life (EOL) EV lithium-ion batteries (EV LiBs) expected in the future. Using these batteries for second-life battery applications (SLB) can potentially prolong the use phase of the batteries and delay recycling. The SLB has paved way for new value chain structures and emergence of new business models integrating sustainability at their core. This study investigates the current SLB value chain structures and the associated sustainable business models (SBM) present in the Norwegian market. The results show two distinct SLB value chain structures, and a typology of associated SBMs. However, there are various SBM barriers that need to be addressed to make SLB viable and sustainable. The study thus discusses various strategies that can be used to overcome these barriers.