The electric car revolution requires new thinking about the battery life cycle
Updated: 18 december 2023, 12:07Published: 3 maj 2022, 09:00
Thomas Lindström, Nordic manager at Dassault Systèmes.
As electric cars become more and more popular, we must also raise awareness of how used batteries are handled. The solution is found in more advanced methods of planning and design.
Few countries can match the conversion from fossil fuels to electricity that is taking place in Sweden. The industry organization Mobility Sweden reports that rechargeable cars accounted for 45 percent of new registrations in 2021.
The increase in rechargeable cars is positive from an environmental point of view and part of the solution to the climate crisis, but not entirely. The culprit in the drama is the handling of the batteries of the rechargeable cars.
– The manufacture and storage of batteries, and not least the handling of used batteries, entails major environmental problems, says Thomas Lindström, Nordic Manager at Dassault Systèmes.
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Greenpeace estimates that more than twelve million tons of lithium-ion batteries will be obsolete in the next ten years. The pressure is heavy on the car industry in Sweden to adopt a more environmentally friendly management of the batteries’ entire life cycles.
– It starts with designing the right type of battery for each application and developing methods that facilitate circular handling, which includes recycling, explains Thomas Lindström.
Managing entire life cycles has traditionally been a major challenge and expensive for the manufacturing industry. But the increasing digitization facilitates, through the use of virtual environments for planning and design.
– A common method is to use digital twins (sometimes called virtual twins). Car manufacturers can create virtual models of all car parts and test different hypotheses on them. This applies to everything from raw materials to how the parts are put together, says Thomas Lindström.
Virtual modeling means that you can reduce the cost of building prototypes and that changes to manufacturing processes can be made more cheaply. Virtual platforms with collaborative features enable not only faster and cheaper development, but also more comprehensive ones.
– Regarding the life cycles of batteries, including recycling, it is possible, for example, to create models at the atomic level of the materials used. It facilitates the work of choosing materials that are easier to recycle. And such models can be connected with models for how manufacturing should be done. The models can also be used to optimize material use, with less environmental impact as a result, Thomas Lindström points out.
Optimizing entire life cycles for products such as batteries is a complicated task. Without digital solutions, it is almost impossible. In the future, methods such as digital twins will definitely play an important role in the automotive industry.
Om Dassault Systèmes
Dassault Systèmes, a leader in 3D experiences, creates virtual environments for sustainable innovation. Its world-leading solutions change the way products are developed, manufactured and maintained. Dassault Système’s collaboration solutions encourage innovation and provide expanded opportunities for the virtual world to enhance the physical. Dassault Systèmes adds value to 290,000 customers of various sizes and in various industries in more than 140 countries. More information is available at www.3ds.com.
The article is produced by Brand Studio in collaboration with Dassault Systèmes and not an article by Dagens industri