What does Tesla’s new honeycomb design mean for battery circularity?

In these times of unprecedented demand for batteries and their raw materials, lifecycle optimization and circularity are among the hottest topics in the battery world, particularly for electric vehicles (EV).

And as usual, the dialogue often begins and ends with Tesla.

Today, there are three main approaches to make the best use of resources in the lithium-ion battery supply chain:

‍Extend battery lifetime
The longer a battery lives, the fewer resource-heavy replacements it needs – simple math! Extending battery lifetime can be done on the cell level, with thoughtful system design, or through advanced battery insights. The data-driven, battery insights approach is the only option fully available to end-users. Using intelligence gleaned from advanced analytic software platforms, users can slightly adjust charging and discharging behavior resulting in 20-30% increase in asset lifespan. Not only does this save precious natural resources, but it is a massive ROI improvement over a 12 – 15-year battery lifecycle.

‍Give batteries a second life
After their first life in a mobile application, battery packs can be used in stationary cases with lower energy and power density requirements. In these situations, the batteries can be operated less strenuously. For example, keeping batteries between 10% and 70% state of charge in a climate-controlled environment can significantly extend their life compared to a vehicle with regular fast charging. Today, second-life projects are realized from kWh to MWh sizes, mainly driven by startups and innovation departments of OEMs.

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