About this Research Topic
The growing battery market is poised to generate an escalating stream of waste from end-of-life batteries unless significant measures are taken to remanufacture, reuse, repurpose, or recycle them upon completion of their initial lifecycle. A suite of smart digital technologies—including the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, blockchain, robotics, digital twins, and battery passports—offers promising solutions. These technologies facilitate the efficient tracking, dismantling, recovery, and reuse of battery components and materials. In doing so, they play a crucial role in driving us toward the goals of a circular economy and achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by the year 2050.
This Research Topic aims to explore the deployment of smart technologies through all phases of the battery life cycle—design, production, first-life use, second-life applications, and recycling. The focus extends to morphing the linear battery supply chain into a circular economy framework. Not only does this approach seek to repurpose or remanufacture battery resources, but it also aims to neutralize or repurpose pollutants. Emphasis will be placed on integrating sustainability assessments and life cycle monitoring to compare battery technologies across various applications, ensuring environmental and economic viability.
We seek articles that address how innovations around smart technologies like IoT, AI, digital twins, blockchain, battery passports, and robotics can support battery circularity. We welcome submissions that incorporate techno-economic assessments, energy use estimation or measurement, and carbon footprint analyses of proposed technologies. Articles should present a balanced discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of these technologies, along with strategies to mitigate any challenges. Topics may also include smart circular business model innovation, battery digital twins, and smart performance monitoring.
Contributors may submit original research, systematic literature reviews, case studies, and experimental studies.
To gather further insights into the expansive scope of battery circularity, contributing authors to this Research Topic are encouraged to address one or more of the following themes in their articles, although submissions may go beyond these topics:
• Technical solutions: Explorations into existing and novel smart technologies facilitating battery circularity.
• Technical, managerial, and organizational challenges: Addressing potential roadblocks with strategic solutions aimed at implementing smart technologies.
• Practical implementation: Innovations in tracking individual batteries or battery fleets through advanced tagging or sensor systems, which includes battery cell-, module-, or pack levels.
• Policy issues and recommendations: Developing frameworks to support battery circularity with the aid of smart technologies, considering various regional, country or geographical contexts
• Stakeholder considerations: Evaluating the impact of smart solutions on different actors within the battery ecosystem as well as exploring the role of different actors in designing and implementing smart solutions for battery circularity.
This Research Topic aims to explore the deployment of smart technologies through all phases of the battery life cycle—design, production, first-life use, second-life applications, and recycling. The focus extends to morphing the linear battery supply chain into a circular economy framework. Not only does this approach seek to repurpose or remanufacture battery resources, but it also aims to neutralize or repurpose pollutants. Emphasis will be placed on integrating sustainability assessments and life cycle monitoring to compare battery technologies across various applications, ensuring environmental and economic viability.
We seek articles that address how innovations around smart technologies like IoT, AI, digital twins, blockchain, battery passports, and robotics can support battery circularity. We welcome submissions that incorporate techno-economic assessments, energy use estimation or measurement, and carbon footprint analyses of proposed technologies. Articles should present a balanced discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of these technologies, along with strategies to mitigate any challenges. Topics may also include smart circular business model innovation, battery digital twins, and smart performance monitoring.
Contributors may submit original research, systematic literature reviews, case studies, and experimental studies.
To gather further insights into the expansive scope of battery circularity, contributing authors to this Research Topic are encouraged to address one or more of the following themes in their articles, although submissions may go beyond these topics:
• Technical solutions: Explorations into existing and novel smart technologies facilitating battery circularity.
• Technical, managerial, and organizational challenges: Addressing potential roadblocks with strategic solutions aimed at implementing smart technologies.
• Practical implementation: Innovations in tracking individual batteries or battery fleets through advanced tagging or sensor systems, which includes battery cell-, module-, or pack levels.
• Policy issues and recommendations: Developing frameworks to support battery circularity with the aid of smart technologies, considering various regional, country or geographical contexts
• Stakeholder considerations: Evaluating the impact of smart solutions on different actors within the battery ecosystem as well as exploring the role of different actors in designing and implementing smart solutions for battery circularity.
Keywords: Battery Circularity, Smart Technologies, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Circular Economy, Sustainable Battery Management.
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
