Researcher Conversation Series – Agent Based Model

“The Dynamics of Electric Vehicle Battery Circular Supply Chain: An Investigation”

Delivered by our Met4Tech Researcher, Dr Krishna Mohan Thazhathu Valiyaveettil, followed by a facilitated discussion.

Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) form the principal power source and the cost component of Electric vehicles (EVs). The materials used in EVLIBs are termed critical due to their high technological importance, scarcity of satisfactory alternatives, and a high probability of economic disruption arising from their supply shortages. The production of critical materials like lithium and cobalt is concentrated in some countries, thus developing a circular supply chain for EVLIB is paramount.

EVLIBs at their end-of-life may be remanufactured for reuse in EVs, repurposed for energy stationary storage systems, or recycled for material recovery. The choice of the recovery process depends on various factors such as the quality of the end-of-life LIB, technological limitations, economic benefits, and regulatory aspects. The combined effect of these factors makes the decision of optimum recovery process difficult due to the emergence of various economic and environmental trade-offs.

In this conversation, we investigate the dynamics of the EVLIB supply chain from a complex and adaptive systems perspective. We consider the members of this supply chain such as manufacturers, recovery agents, regulators, etc. as autonomous agents. We examine how these agents’ decisions and interactions shape the system’s emerging behaviour.

Contact us directly for a link to this webinar: enquiries@Met4Tech.org

The Met4Tech Researcher Conversation sessions give the audience the chance of a two-way conversation with a different project researcher each month. This regular series aims to highlight Researcher progress and updates for the whole audience of Met4Tech project participants, from internal students and professors through to external enterprise partners.