Assessment of Automation Potentials for the Disassembly of Automotive Lithium Ion Battery Systems

Lithium ion batteries from electric vehicles contain lots of valuable materials (e.g. lithium, cobalt, copper). To successfully recover these materials the recycling process becomes crucial. In the recycling process, a central aspect is the mechanical disassembly, which needs to be automated to make the recycling economically viable. In this paper an integrated methodology is presented that enables the assessment of automation potentials for disassembly operations for automotive traction batteries. Based on a product analysis and a criteria catalogue, disassembly steps that are worth being automated, can be identified. Thus, decision making regarding the automation of single disassembly steps is supported.