Drives and Barriers for Circular Ion-Lithium Battery Economy: A Case Study in an Automobile Manufacturer

The growing concern for sustainability and the development of new technologies have made the electric vehicle one of the solutions and alternatives for global mobility. However, the increase in sales of these vehicles also impacts the amount of lithium-ion batteries produced, which encompass rare mineral extraction processes. Therefore, the concept of circular economy has been explored and applied by organizations, aiming to close the product life cycle, reduce the demand for resources and improve the supply chain. Through a single case study, the objective of this paper is to identify the drivers and barriers in the implementation of the circular economy for lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with three employees of a car manufacturer located in Brazil. From the content analysis, thirteen drivers and sixteen empirical barriers were identified. The unavailability of national technology and qualified suppliers for the implementation of the second and third use of batteries were identified as the main barriers. Regarding the drivers, objectives and strategies of the organization and regulations (governmental and environmental) were highlighted as the main boosters. We believe such results can help those organizations that intend to apply the circularity model to electric vehicle batteries to anticipate drivers and barriers and hence explore the opportunities presented in this study.