Preconditions of Circular Business Model Innovation for the Electric Vehicle Battery Second Life: An Ecosystem Perspective

Abstract

There is a strong interconnection between transportation and sustainability. Therefore, electric vehicles (EVs) have received a great deal of attention, and their sales and market share have been growing rapidly. Soon, a huge amount of EV batteries will reach their end of life that need to be handled appropriately. The second life applications are suggested as a potential solution. However, to implement such applications, there is a need to shift towards new business models, which have a central focus on circularity. Therefore, this paper studies preconditions of circular business model innovation (CBMI) for the electric vehicle battery second life from the ecosystem perspective. It also identifies current (as is) and upcoming (to be) business models. Data has been collected from fourteen companies representing the electric vehicle battery second life (EVBSL) ecosystem. Results show three types of current and three types of upcoming business models in the EVBSL ecosystem. Further, four preconditions for CBMI were found, namely, 2nd life value proposition, 2nd life value network development, 2nd life-based revenue model, and digital technologies.

Balancing Power in Sweden Using Different Renewable Resources, Varying Prices, and Storages Like Batteries in a Resilient Energy System

“…This makes the possibility of large storage capacities feasible in the future, but the cost calculations are still uncertain. Malardalen University is running a project called RECREATE [42] with a focus on the second life of batteries. The project includes vehicle manufacturers such as Volvo (trucks, construction equipment, buses), Epiroc (mining equipment), and Alstom (trains), as well as users of second-life batteries, including energy companies such as Malarenergi and ESEM (Eskilstuna Strägnäs Energy and Environment).…”