Stefan Andrew

An Extended Energy Value Stream Approach Applied on the Electronics Industry

In today’s manufacturing companies lean production systems are widely established in order to address the traditional production objectives such as quality, cost, time and flexibility. Beyond those objectives, objectives such as energy consumption and related CO2 emissions gained relevance due to rising energy costs and environmental concerns. Existing energy value stream methods allow the consideration of traditional and energy related variables. However, current approaches only take the energy consumptions of the actual manufacturing process and set-up times into account neglecting non-productive operational states and technical building services related consumption. Therefore, an extended energy value stream approach will be presented that provides the necessary degree of transparency to enable improvements of the energy value stream of a product considering also the influence of product design parameters.

Assessment of Automation Potentials for the Disassembly of Automotive Lithium Ion Battery Systems

Lithium ion batteries from electric vehicles contain lots of valuable materials (e.g. lithium, cobalt, copper). To successfully recover these materials the recycling process becomes crucial. In the recycling process, a central aspect is the mechanical disassembly, which needs to be automated to make the recycling economically viable. In this paper an integrated methodology is presented that enables the assessment of automation potentials for disassembly operations for automotive traction batteries. Based on a product analysis and a criteria catalogue, disassembly steps that are worth being automated, can be identified. Thus, decision making regarding the automation of single disassembly steps is supported.

Scenario-Based Development of Disassembly Systems for Automotive Lithium Ion Battery Systems

The rising number of lithium ion batteries from electric vehicles makes an economically advantageous and technically mature disassembly system for the end-of-life batteries inevitable. The disassembly system needs to cope with the size, the design and the remaining state of charge of the respective battery system. The complex design resulting from the number and type of connection elements challenges an automated disassembly. The realisation of an automated disassembly presupposes the consideration of elements from Design for Disassembly throughout the battery system development. In this paper a scenario-based development of disassembly systems is presented with varying possible design aspects as well as different amounts of end of life battery systems. These scenarios point out the resulting implications on battery disassembly systems in short, medium and long term. Using a morphological box the best option for each disassembly scenario is identified and framed in a disassembly system design. The disassembly systems are explained and the core elements are introduced. Newly developed and innovative disassembly tools, such as a robot that allows a hybrid human-robot-working-space and an advanced battery cell gripper are introduced. The gripper system for the battery cells enables with an integrated sensor an instant monitoring of the battery cell condition. The proposed disassembly element is verified in an experimental test series with automotive pouch cell batteries.

Environmental Aspects of the Recycling of Lithium-Ion Traction Batteries

Recycling lithium-ion traction batteries is expected to contribute decreasing the environmental impact of electric vehicles. Recycling might not only help reducing the amount of primary material required to be supplied to the battery industry but also preventing landfill and incineration activities. Nevertheless, recycling does not imply per se an environmental benefit as its impact is affected by different issues such as the quality of the material recovered, the energy and material consumption by the process itself and the efforts caused by the required logistics. This chapter presents an analysis of the most relevant aspects of the recycling process of lithium-ion batteries from an environmental perspective. It first introduces a framework to understand the different ways in which a recycling industry might affect the environment. This framework is further applied to describe the potential environmental effects of recycling traction batteries. Using primary data, we conducted an energy and materials flow analysis of the process developed within the LithoRec project. Finally, we discuss the results of the life cycle assessment (LCA) performed within the context of the LithoRec project and identify key issues to be considered in order to develop recycling processes that contribute to develop an environmentally consistent recycling strategy parallel to the rising traction battery industry.

Disassembly Planning and Assessment of Automation Potentials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Traction batteries are composed of various materials that are both economic valuable and environmentally relevant. Being able to recover these materials while preserving its quality is not only economically attractive, but it can also contribute to decrease the environmental impact of electric vehicles. Disassembly can play in this regard a key role. On the one hand it might allow to separate potential hazardous substances and avoid an uncontrolled distribution of these substances into other material flows. One the other hand disassembly might promote improving the rate of material recovered while preserving its quality and decreasing disassembly costs. In this chapter we present a methodology for the estimation of disassembly sequences and for the estimation of automation potentials for the disassembly of traction batteries. The methodology is illustrated with an experimental case study.