According to foreign media reports, as electric vehicles become increasingly popular, one of the things we have to deal with is the piles of batteries that have reached the end of their lifespan. Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have set their sights on this future and developed a new robotic system that can automatically disassemble used electric vehicle batteries efficiently and safely, making them easier to recycle.
The issue of used electric vehicle batteries is not only a concern for research institutions, but also a major concern for large automakers. Nissan reuses batteries in its Leaf to power data centers, Renault uses electric vehicle batteries in home energy storage systems and chargers at highway rest stops, Ford is building a $185 million fund to focus on research and development of next-generation batteries, and so on.
However, currently only a small fraction of these batteries are recycled, so much work remains to be done to avoid massive amounts of e-waste. Currently, manual processing involves discharging the batteries and then disassembling them piece by piece, exposing workers to toxic chemicals and power levels potentially reaching 900 volts.
To build a robotic system to handle heavy lifting, the team turned to a previously developed system for extracting rare-earth magnets from old hard drives. This system was also used for used electric vehicle batteries; the new disassembly system can handle any type of battery pack and safely remove bolts and casings even when the device still has residual power.
“With our system, when the robot picks up the battery pack and puts it on the production line, it marks the last time a human touches it, until it becomes fragments and parts,” said team leader Tim McIntyre.
There, automated systems can disassemble batteries into battery layers and extract different materials such as cobalt, lithium, or metal foil for recycling. Furthermore, it can extract individual battery modules for refurbishment and reuse in energy storage systems. According to the team, the system can disassemble 100 or more battery packs in the time it takes one worker to disassemble 12 packs.
Team member Jonathan Harter stated, "In this process, there are no industry restrictions on the number of batteries. There's already a huge backlog. The limiting factor is the time required for discharging and manual removal."
Currently, the team is exploring the idea of building a system to process commercially available quantities of waste batteries, but they also envision its application to the powertrains of electric vehicles, which contain valuable materials.
Team member Tom Lograsso points out: "Automated disassembly of components containing critical materials not only eliminates labor-intensive manual disassembly, but also provides an efficient process that separates components into higher-value streams, where critical materials are concentrated into individual feedstocks for recycling. This added value is an important component of establishing an economically viable process."
