Remanufacturing of E-mobility Components - Five-Step Implementation Strategy to increase Sustainability within Circular Economy

Global waste expects to grow up to 3.4 billion tons by 2050, and the world is only 8.6 % circular; thus, our way of life is not sustainable. Therefore, society should move from the take--make--dispose principle towards a circular economy by optimizing resource consumption and reducing waste. Remanufacturing is a business model that enables the transformation by developing a circular economy in industrial companies. The remanufacturing process chain consists of disassembling, cleaning, sorting and inspection, reconditioning and reassembling. It extends the life cycle of products and reduces the use of new materials, energy consumption, costs, carbon dioxide emissions, landfill costs and waste compared to manufacturing new products. Due to the upcoming changes and transitions in the mobility sector focusing on electric drive systems, the circularity of their components will become a crucial lever for sustainability. An appropriate remanufacturing strategy is essential and enables manufacturer of electric drive systems to develop and implement sustainable remanufacturing. This paper presents a five-step implementation strategy for remanufacturing of e-mobility components. The five-step strategy includes Product Analysis, Market Research, Remanufacturing Technology Analysis, Remanufacturing Process Design and Business Models. This enables the implementation of a sustainable and market oriented business model in the e-mobility aftermarket.