SafEty QUalification critEria for increasing sustainabiLity
Objective: Development of a methodology for the evaluation and qualification of used automotive LIBs for 2nd life applications to directly increase their useful life.
1st research question (technical aspect): How can LIB modules of vehicles be technically qualified with regard to safety for "2nd life" applications (e.g., for stationary energy storage or industrial trucks)?
2nd research question (legal-economic aspect): Under which requirements and framework conditions (e.g., legal, economical) can and may manufacturers use automotive LIB for their products?
From a technical point of view, a comprehensive assessment of the safety status of the battery at the end of its initial use in the vehicle (end-of-1st-life) is important in order to be able to carry out an objective assessment of the suitability of the battery for further use in 2nd-life applications. Usually, the SOH ("State of Health") is used for this purpose, which is defined by the ratio of the current to the nominal storage capacity. 80% SOH is a much-used value here for the end-of-1st-life. A definition of the safety state of a battery, i.e., a "State of Safety" (SoS), analogous to the SOH does not exist. However, this is to be worked out in detail in P3.
In addition to technical and safety-critical questions, there are also numerous legal and economic questions with regard to stationary and mobile 2nd-life applications and their feasibility, which must be answered in order to enable a broad, sustainable establishment on the market. For this purpose, in addition to market perspectives from the point of view of relevant stakeholder groups and possible business models, current and expected legal regulations and those in in preparation are also included.
