Investigating context-specific factors for the development of circular business models for end-of-life electric vehicle lithium batteries in Australia

Abstract

Considering the rapid adoption of lithium batteries in electric vehicles (EV), several tonnes of lithium batteries are expected to reach end-of-life in the coming years. These batteries, if disposed in landfill, presents concerns to the environment and human health. Moreover, end-of-life EV lithium batteries still retain a certain extent of their initial capacity. Hence, a circular economy (CE) approach has been proposed as a possible solution to overcome these challenges. Effective circular business models play a vital role for the adoption of circular practices throughout the industry considering the development of such models are context specific. Therefore, this research aims to explore and investigate context-specific factors required to develop a circular business model for end-of-life EV lithium batteries in Australia.This study applies an inductive approach drawing from themes arising from semi-structured interviews of five stakeholder groups related to the EV lithium battery industry. The level of influence of government policies, knowledge and understanding of CE, and the dependence on EU and other nations were found to influence the EV battery industry. Particularly, the findings suggest the knowledge of ‘how to be involved in CE initiatives’ was lacking and should be given importance. Therefore, the importance of collaboration not only between government and industry but also involving academics and research institutions is highlighted. Based on these contextual factors, implementing the 10R strategy relative to the prevalent 3R or 4R strategy for the development and classification of circular business models for end-of-life EV lithium batteries in Australia is suggested. Academic contributions and managerial implications followed by recommendations to policy makers are provided.