Understanding Circular Battery Economy
A circular battery economy can be understood in terms of three complementary zones: the Green Zone™, Yellow Zone™, and Blue Zone™. The Green Zone™ profitably extends the useful life of battery modules through automotive reuse. The Yellow Zone™ repurposes battery modules that no longer meet automotive performance requirements for community energy storage. The Blue Zone™ recovers valuable materials from batteries through recycling, returning them to the battery supply chain.
Instead of treating every retired vehicle battery module as waste, a circular battery economy matches each module to its highest-value remaining use before recycling.
Figure: The Circular Battery Economy
After reconditioning (or rebalancing for lithium-ion batteries), battery modules are directed to the aftermarket, repurposing, or recycling according to their remaining energy capacity.
Modules suitable for automotive service are returned to the aftermarket. Those that no longer meet automotive performance requirements but retain sufficient energy capacity are repurposed for stationary energy storage. Modules that have reached the end of their useful life are recycled to recover valuable materials.
Figure: The Circular Battery Economy