Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2022-523/ The overall aim of this project is to promote the Nordic countries as a forerunner region in demanding and using sustainable design of batteries for consumer electronics and the transport sector, and to identify key opportunities, barriers and challenges in the transition towards a more sustainable use of battery technologies. The aesthetics of the design should meet with the overall sustainability: high quality, durability and smart assembly for refurbishing.The project is funded by the Nordic Working Group for Circular Economy (NCE) under the Nordic Council of Ministers. The project has been carried out by Viegand Maagøe A/S (Denmark) and IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute (Sweden) in the period 20 October 2020 to 31 December 2021.A reference group with representatives from the Nordics has been established, who provided valuable input to the study.
Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2022-524/ The overall aim of this project is to promote the Nordic countries as a forerunner region in demanding and using sustainable design of batteries for consumer electronics and the transport sector, and to identify key opportunities, barriers and challenges in the transition towards a more sustainable use of battery technologies. The aesthetics of the design should meet with the overall sustainability: high quality, durability and smart assembly for refurbishing.The project is funded by the Nordic Working Group for Circular Economy (NCE) under the Nordic Council of Ministers. The project has been carried out by Viegand Maagøe A/S (Denmark) and IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute (Sweden) in the period 20 October 2020 to 31 December 2021.A reference group with representatives from the Nordics has been established, who provided valuable input to the study.
Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2024-502/ Eunomia Research & Consulting and Mepex Consult AS were commissioned by the Nordic Working Group for Circular Economy to carry out a study on production and recycling of batteries used in electrical vehicles (EVs) with a focus on the Nordic region. The study sought to contribute to building knowledge around technologies and procedures capable of reducing emissions and minimising environmental risks across the EV battery value chain, and to provide initial findings that may inform future Best Available Techniques Reference documents. The EV battery value chain is experiencing rapid growth and evolution at all stages. Each of these stages, and associated technologies, are accompanied by environmental risks, waste products and emissions. Additionally, distinct barriers to the circularity of batteries include degradation of battery capacity and complexity of technologies and supply chains.
The number of electric vehicles (cars, buses, e-bikes, electric scooters and electric motorcycles) sold in the Nordic countries is currently increasing quickly. That means that more electricity is used for driving, and also that more of some important metals are being used than earlier. This report regards the fate of the lithium-ion batteries used in vehicles in the Nordic countries. Currently the “Battery Directive” (EC, 2006) which is a producer’s responsibility directive, is under revision and this study is a knowledge base intended for use by the Nordic Environmental Protection Agencies for their referral response in the revision process. This report focuses on the aspect of metal resources, but it does not elaborate on a broader range of environmental impacts, as these were outside the scope of this study.
The number of electric vehicles (cars, buses, e-bikes, electric scooters and electric motorcycles) sold in the Nordic countries is currently increasing quickly. That means that more electricity is used for driving, and also that more of some important metals are being used than earlier. This report regards the fate of the lithium-ion batteries used in vehicles in the Nordic countries. Currently the "Battery Directive" (EC, 2006) which is a producer's responsibility directive, is under revision and this study is a knowledge base intended for use by the Nordic Environmental Protection Agencies for their referral response in the revision process. This report focuses on the aspect of metal resources, but it does not elaborate on a broader range of environmental impacts, as these were outside the scope of this study.
Ricardo Energy & Environment was commissioned to provide technical support to the European Commission on "Circular Economy Perspectives for the Management of Batteries used in Electric Vehicles" (hereafter, the 'project'). The project was commissioned by the European Commission's DG Joint Research Centre (hereafter 'the JRC'). This final report provides a summary of the final findings of the project, which were also presented in draft form and discussed with stakeholders at the final project workshop on 4th February 2019. For electric vehicles, the production (and disposal) of the traction battery may constitute a significant share of the full lifecycle impacts. With the take-up of electric vehicles anticipated to accelerate in the coming years, minimisation of these impacts will be increasingly important. The objective of the project is to support the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in providing a strong factual base and techno-economic analysis to address the following six key research questions: 1. What are the current available and emerging techniques in the manufacturing, re-use and recycling of traction batteries for electric vehicles? How are end-of-life batteries currently processed and what are the emerging plans for the future? 2. What is the current environmental impact of traction batteries for electric vehicles across the whole life cycle? What are the current environmental hotspots and how are they addressed? 3. What will the potential environmental impacts and hotspots of traction batteries over their whole life cycle be if electric vehicles are deployed at large scale and/or in accordance with current trends, in the near, medium and long term? 4. What are the perspectives for developing a sustainable value chain for electric vehicle batteries in the EU? 5. What are the current strengths and weaknesses of the EU economy (industry, infrastructure, policy framework) for dealing with the lifecycle of traction batteries in the perspective of road transport electrification? 6. What public policies could be envisaged to ensure truly circular lifecycles for traction batteries, and to harness the opportunities for growth and jobs in the EU? In order to investigate and provide robust answers to these key research questions, the Project team followed an analytical approach to build the evidence base supporting the analysis, identifying key challenges and finally developing potential policy solutions. The initial part of the analysis focusses on reviewing state-of-the-art techniques for the manufacturing, reuse/repurposing and recycling of batteries, to better understand the environmental lifecycle impacts and hotspots, and to feed into the analysis of implications of electric vehicle (EV) deployment, which were explored by scenario modelling. By establishing the characteristics of what a sustainable value chain could look like, the analysis could identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the EU economy in reaching a circular economy model for EV batteries. The final part of the analysis then laid out concrete challenges facing the development of a sustainable value chain, and how to address these by identifying policy alternatives and prioritising these (according to better regulation criteria) to propose a shortlist of policy solutions to be considered.
Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2024-506/ This report explores the Nordic countries’ experience with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), an environmental policy approach that extends the responsibility of producers to include the environmental impact of a product. With a particular focus on EPR schemes for plastic products, the report aims to extract practical insights for the development and expansion of EPR schemes globally.
