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REVIEW article

Front. Manuf. Technol.
Sec. Sustainable Life Cycle Engineering and Manufacturing
Volume 4 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmtec.2024.1360076
This article is part of the Research Topic Editor’s Challenge in Life Cycle Engineering: Battery Life Cycle Engineering View all articles

Challenges and Opportunities to Advance Manufacturing Research for Sustainable Battery Life Cycles

Provisionally accepted
Björn Johansson Björn Johansson 1,2*Mélanie Despeisse Mélanie Despeisse 1Jon Bokrantz Jon Bokrantz 1Greta Braun Greta Braun 1Huizhong Cao Huizhong Cao 1Arpita Chari Arpita Chari 1Qi Fang Qi Fang 1Clarissa A. González Chávez Clarissa A. González Chávez 1Anders Skoogh Anders Skoogh 1Henrik Söderlund Henrik Söderlund 1Hao Wang Hao Wang 1Kristina Wärmefjord Kristina Wärmefjord 1Lars Nyborg Lars Nyborg 1Jinhua Sun Jinhua Sun 1Roland Örtengren Roland Örtengren 1Kelsea Schumacher Kelsea Schumacher 3Laura Espinal Laura Espinal 3Katherine Morris Katherine Morris 3Jason Nunley Jason Nunley 3Yusuke Kishita Yusuke Kishita 4Yasushi Umeda Yasushi Umeda 4Federica Acerbi Federica Acerbi 5Marta Pinzone Marta Pinzone 5Hanna Persson Hanna Persson 6Sophie Charpentier Sophie Charpentier 6Kristina Edström Kristina Edström 7Daniel Brandell Daniel Brandell 8Maheshwaran Gopalakrishnan Maheshwaran Gopalakrishnan 9Hossein Rahnama Hossein Rahnama 2Lena Abrahamsson Lena Abrahamsson 2Anna Öhrwall Rönnbäck Anna Öhrwall Rönnbäck 2Johan Stahre Johan Stahre 1
  • 1 Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
  • 2 Department of Business Administration, Technology and Social Sciences, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Norrbotten, Sweden
  • 3 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States
  • 4 Department of Precision Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tōkyō, Japan
  • 5 Department of Management Engineering, Polytechnic of Milan, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
  • 6 Chalmers Industriteknik, Gothenburg, Sweden
  • 7 Ångström Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden
  • 8 Ångström Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden
  • 9 Global Industrial Development, Scania (Sweden), Södertälje, Sweden

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Advanced manufacturing research for sustainable battery life cycles is of utmost importance to reach net zero carbon emissions (European Commission, 2023b) as well as several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), for example: 30% reduction of CO2 emission, 10 million job opportunities and access to electricity for 600 million people (World Economic Forum, 2019). This editorial paper highlights international motivations for pursuing more sustainable manufacturing practices and discusses key research topics in battery manufacturing. Batteries will be central to our sustainable future as generation and storage become key components to on-demand energy supply. Four underlying themes are identified to address industrial needs in this field:1. Digitalizing and automating production capabilities: data-driven solutions for production quality, smart maintenance, automation, and human factors, 2. Human-centric production: extended reality for operator support and skills development, 3. Circular battery life cycles: circular battery systems supported by service-based and other novel business models, 4. Future topics for battery value chains: increased industrial resilience and transparency with digital product passports, and next-generation battery chemistries.Challenges and opportunities along these themes are highlighted for transforming battery value chains through circularity and more sustainable production, with a particular emphasis on lithium-ion batteries (LIB). The paper concludes with directions for further research to advance a circular and sustainable battery value chain through utilizing the full potential of digitalization realising a cleaner, more energy-efficient society.

    Keywords: Battery production, digitalization, Industry 5.0, electrification, Human centeredness, Sustainable value chain management, sustainable production, Life cycle engineering

    Received: 22 Dec 2023; Accepted: 05 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Johansson, Despeisse, Bokrantz, Braun, Cao, Chari, Fang, González Chávez, Skoogh, Söderlund, Wang, Wärmefjord, Nyborg, Sun, Örtengren, Schumacher, Espinal, Morris, Nunley, Kishita, Umeda, Acerbi, Pinzone, Persson, Charpentier, Edström, Brandell, Gopalakrishnan, Rahnama, Abrahamsson, Öhrwall Rönnbäck and Stahre. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Björn Johansson, Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, 412 96, Sweden

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.