Figure 2 : Global battery demand by application and region in 2030
Figure 3 : Battery life cycle – New concept ( SLB )
individuals and industries , namely EV owners , battery re-purposing companies , SLB users and battery recyclers ( Reid and Julve 2016 ). Firstly , EV owners could benefit by obtaining the recovery value of their discarded batteries . Secondly , battery re-purposing could create a new industry and business opportunity . These new business companies could be in charge of assessment , rearrangement and repackaging of discarded EV batteries for different SLB applications . Thirdly , and most importantly , SLB users would be the largest beneficiaries as their role could be either as individuals or industries . They will be able to buy ESSs at a much cheaper price when using SLBs . Lastly , battery recyclers could also benefit from SLB . During assessment , rearrangement and repackaging , some bad battery cells will be discarded . These bad batteries which have fallen below certain criteria can be recycled to extract valuable battery materials . Thus , by considering the re-use of discarded EV batteries , not only an environmental concern is being addressed but also financial opportunities for individuals and industries are created ( Dulout and Villa 2019 ; Reid and Julve 2016 ).
EV batteries are expected to hit the end of their first life between five and eight years or about 160,000km of travelling distance . However ,
battery ageing is complex and not always predictable . Driving behaviour such as frequent ramping and braking could degrade the battery faster . With the new concept of SLB , the EV batteries could be used for another seven to ten years before sending for recycling ( Venkatapathy , Tazelaar , and Veenhuizen 2015 ).
It is worth mentioning that lithium-ion batteries ( LiBs ) are the most used type of battery in EV applications . LiBs are superior compared to other types of batteries such as lead-acid , Nickel Cadmium ( NiCd ) and Nickel Metal Hydride ( NiMH ) due to their high-power density , long lifetime , fast charge capabilities and low self-discharge bahaviour ( Diouf and Pode 2015 ).
APPLICATIONS
In general , SLBs are primarily used in ESS . However , ESS has many different applications and the implementation and suitability of SLBs may differ . Researchers have been arguing whether SLB can be used for all applications . However , a study conducted showed that some applications such as renewable farming , area and frequency regulation , smart grid and microgrid are best suited for SLB ( Hossain et al . 2019 ).
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