Repurposing spent batteries in communication base stations (CBSs) is a promising option to dispose massive spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) from electric vehicles (EVs), yet the environmental fea.
Can repurposed EV batteries be used in communication base stations?
Among the potential applications of repurposed EV LIBs, the use of these batteries in communication base stations (CBSs) isone of the most promising candidates owing to the large-scale onsite energy storage demand ( Heymans et al., 2014; Sathre et al., 2015 ).
Owing to the long cycle life and high energy and power density, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are themost widely used technology in the power supply system of EVs ( Opitz et al. (2017); Alfaro-Algaba and Ramirez et al., 2020 ).
In the recycling stage, the collectedLIB packs are dismantled to obtain the main components, such as battery cells, BMSs, and packaging, and various material fractions are recovered from these components separately (Table A1 in the supplementary materials).
Should repurposed lithium batteries be used as a lab system?
From the resource point of view, the MDP of repurposed LIBs isnot always preferable to that of the conventional LAB system. Recently, the environmental and social impacts of battery metals such as nickel, lithium and cobalt, have drawn much attention due to the ever-increasing demand ( Ziemann et al., 2019; Watari et al., 2020 ).
Can EV libs be used as energy storage modules?
In addition, since most spent EV LIBs still have 80% of their nominal capacities ( Ahmadi et al., 2014a ),they can be repurposed as energy storage modules for less demanding systems, such as peak shaving, swapping power stations, and renewable energy storage ( Han et al., 2018 ).
Does secondary use of lithium ion batteries reduce the MDP value?
The findings of this study indicate a potential dilemma; more raw metals are depleted during the secondary use of LIBs in CBSs than in the LAB scenario. On the one hand, the secondary use of LIBsreduces the MDP value by extending the service life of the batteries, although more metal resources are consumed during the repurposing activities.