Review of sustainable service-based business models in the Chinese truck sector

Growth of global sales of new trucks in emerging economies is substantial however, in China the growth of sales is expected to be only 1% for 2014–2024. The limited sales growth forecast and an intense market competition make it imperative for truck manufacturers in China to diversify their revenue earnings through service-based business models for the Chinese market. Typically, Chinese service based business models need to be sustainable by considering environmental and social factors in the manufacturer’s business model. This paper reviews existing product–service systems (PSS) and service-based business models in the automotive sector to identify how truck manufacturers could reorient their current business model with respect to the Chinese context to enhance customer satisfaction, profitability and sustainability. The analysis indicates that most of the studies in the automotive sector have focused on product-oriented or use-oriented business models with respect to car segment specifically in the developed markets. Besides, sustainability issues related to vehicle end-of-life management are rarely considered. Our findings suggest that the Chinese truck sector needs an integrated result-oriented PSS business model which could be implemented in other developing countries

Cascade Use and the Management of Product Lifecycles

This paper explores the challenges related to the End-Of-Life phase of products and circular systems of reuse and recycling within the commonly established frameworks of product lifecycles. Typically, Original Equipment Manufacturer-centric supply chain perspectives neglect the complexity at the End-Of-Life where many third-parties are involved in reuse and recycling activities. Based on a review of product lifecycle and related recycling literature, this study proposes the application of ‘cascades’, a term originally coined within the biomass domain. We propose and subsequently apply the ‘cascade use methodology’ and identify additional and value-adding End-Of-Life solutions for products and materials. The adoption of cascade utilization into product lifecycles is analyzed and critically discussed using case studies from independent remanufacturing and tire recycling, focusing on the End-Of-Life while excluding business models as renting or sharing. Although theoretically feasible, we argue that the practical adoption of ‘cascade use’ deserves more attention from researchers and practitioners in order to become an integral part of the comprehensive management of product lifecycles

Mapping of Strategic Factors for 2nd Life Battery Repurposing: A qualitative multiple case study of Norwegian actors

Policies for energy efficiency and renewable energies, as well as consolidating CO2 standards for vehicles, have been implemented to achieve climate targets set by The Paris Climate Agreement. In recent years these actions have led to a boost in the global electrification of the transport sector, and hence Electric Vehicles (EVs). In Norway, EVs represented a market share at 55% in 2020, making the country a first-mover internationally. A Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIB) is removed from the EV when the retaining capacity drops below 80%, which will lead to an increase of decommissioned LIBs in the future. In recent years, the amount of End of Life (EoL) batteries has been seen as a business opportunity, giving rise to several start-ups employing decommissioned EV batteries in second-life applications. This thesis aims to cover a gap in the research literature, focusing on contributing valuable insight with empirical data from the Norwegian repurpose market. Through a qualitative multi-case study design, a selection of established businesses, either directly or indirectly connected to the Norwegian repurpose market, were studied. Findings mapped out strategic factors for repurposers and identified barriers and drivers in the Norwegian repurposing market. The use case of second-life batteries, channels for sourcing second-life batteries, and how the different cases can overcome barriers in the market proved to be the most influential factors. Barriers within the second-life battery market occur due to a lack of market structure and national regulatory standards. Moreover, empirical evidence shows a need for governmental facilitation to expand the market for second-life battery repurposing

Governance strategies for end-of-life electric vehicle battery recycling in China: A tripartite evolutionary game analysis

End-of-life (EOL) electric vehicle (EV) batteries have both economic and environmental benefits if recycled in an environmentally friendly manner while they may cause environmental pollution if treated improperly. China is currently working hard to promote the development of a circular economy by EOL EV battery recycling. However, conflicts of interest among electric vehicle manufacturers (EVMs), consumers, and the government often hinder efficient recycling. This study constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model under the condition of bounded rationality, analyzes the evolutionary stability strategy of three participants, and combines with numerical simulation to explore the feasible governance strategies of EOL EV battery recycling. The results show that four evolutionary stable strategies (ESSs) correspond to the three stages of the EOL EV battery recycling industry: early stage, development stage, and maturity stage. In the early stage, the punishment strategy is more critical to motivate EVMs and consumers to actively participate in battery recycling. The subsidy mechanisms can influence the strategic choices of the three participants, but the excessive subsidy is not conducive to the sustainable development of the EOL EV battery industry. In addition, when the industry matures, the government will gradually decrease intervention, thereby realizing the development path of EOL EV battery recycling from exogenous government supervision to endogenous profit drive

Research on policies of power batteries recycle in China from the perspective of life cycle

As fueled by the rapid advancement of novel energies-based vehicles in our nation since 2015, Chinese production and ownership of novel energies-based vehicles in China have been leaping forward. According to 4—8 years’ service life of power batteries, China ushered into the large-scale scrapping phase of power batteries in 2019, so the power batteries recycle system should be urgently constructed. Given the life cycle perspective, the characteristics of each stage of the power battery life cycle are analyzed in the present study. As revealed from the results, the upstream end of the power batteries recycle system in China is not yet perfect, the production capacity at the midstream end tends to be excess, and the downstream end is in the exploratory phase. Moreover, the present study analyzes the policies throughout the life cycle of power batteries, and it is reported that the recycling policies at the midstream processing end are relatively concentrated, the upstream and downstream policies are comparatively deficient, the top-level legal construction is lacked, the recycling network is not perfect, and the incentive and guidance policies for echelon exploitation enterprises require modification, and relevant policy suggestions are proposed

Characterization of 2nd life Li-Ion batteries for use within an EU context

Lithium-ion batteries have revolutionized the industry in terms of mobile power applications. Ranging from cell phones to electric vehicles, Li-ion batteries have been at the heart of the energy transition. In this document the consequences of the latest EU directive concerning batteries is reviewed, the potential for creating a business via the use of 2nd life li-ion batteries is discussed and the viability of characterizing a li-ion battery for use in its second life by measuring its internal resistance is investigated. It has been shown that it is indeed possible to create a business model around the latest EU directive by providing guaranteed energy storage for residents, and that a test bench using low cost materials and an Arduino Nano can be used. The calculated internal resistance of 42mΩ has an acceptable 5% error with the theory, and is likely due to hardware limitations such as no filtering being done within the circuit. Future work includes building upon this thesis to create a commercial product to provide SoH estimations for 2nd life batteries for use within an EU contex

Game-theoretic analysis to examine how government subsidy policies affect a closed-loop supply chain decision

The pros and cons of government subsidy policies in a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) setting on optimal pricing, investment decisions in improving product quality, and used product collection under social welfare (SW) optimization goal have not been examined comprehensively. This study compares the outcomes of three government policies under manufacturer-Stackelberg (MS) and retailer-Stackelberg (RS), namely (i) direct subsidy to the consumer, (ii) subsidy to the manufacturer to stimulate used product collection, and (iii) subsidy to the manufacturer to improve product quality. Results demonstrate that the greening level, used product collection, and SW are always higher under the RS game, but the rate of a subsidy granted by the government is always higher under the MS game. Profits for the CLSC members and SW are always higher if the government provides a subsidy directly to the consumer, but productivity of investment in the perspective of the manufacturer or government are less. In a second policy, the government organizations grant a subsidy to the manufacturer to stimulate used product collection, but it does not necessarily yield the desired outcome compared to others. In a third policy, the manufacturer receives a subsidy on a research and development (R&D) investment, but it yields a sub-optimal greening level. This study reveals that the outcomes of subsidy policies can bring benefit to consumers and add a degree of complication for CLSC members; government organizations need to inspect carefully among attributes, mainly product type, power of CLSC members, and investment efficiency for the manufacturer, before implementing any subsidy policies so that it can lead to an environmentally and economically viable outcome

Small-Scale Smart Grid Construction and Analysis

The smart grid (SG) is a commonly used catch-phrase in the energy industry yet there is no universally accepted definition. The objectives and most useful concepts have been investigated extensively in economic, environmental and engineering research by applying statistical knowledge and established theories to develop simulations without constructing physical models. In this study, a small-scale version (SSSG) is constructed to physically represent these ideas so they can be evaluated. Results of construction show data acquisition three times more expensive than the grid itself although mainly due to the incapability to downsize 70% of data acquisition costs to small-scale. Experimentation on the fully assembled grid exposes the limitations of low cost modified sine wave power, significant enough to recommend pure sine wave investment in future SSSG iterations. Findings can be projected to full-size SG at a ratio of 1:10, based on the appliance representing average US household peak daily load. However this exposes disproportionalities in the SSSG compared with previous SG investigations and recommended changes for future iterations are established to remedy this issue. Also discussed are other ideas investigated in the literature and their suitability for SSSG incorporation. It is highly recommended to develop a user-friendly bidirectional charger to more accurately represent vehicle-to-grid (V2G) infrastructure. Smart homes, BEV swap stations and pumped hydroelectric storage can also be researched on future iterations of the SSSG

Efficiency and Sustainability of the Distributed Renewable Hybrid Power Systems Based on the Energy Internet, Blockchain Technology and Smart Contracts

The climate changes that are visible today are a challenge for the global research community. In this context, renewable energy sources, fuel cell systems, and other energy generating sources must be optimally combined and connected to the grid system using advanced energy transaction methods. As this book presents the latest solutions in the implementation of fuel cell and renewable energy in mobile and stationary applications such as hybrid and microgrid power systems based on energy internet, blockchain technology, and smart contracts, we hope that they are of interest to readers working in the related fields mentioned above

How companies improve critical raw materials circularity: IRTC-Business Workshop co-organised with the EU Raw Materials Week

The workshop “How companies improve critical raw materials criticality” was co-organized by the International Round Table on Materials Criticality in its current project IRTC-Business. After IRTC had investigated the potential of circular strategy to mitigate criticality of critical raw materials in earlier events, discussions and publications, the workshop aimed at understanding concrete applications of circular strategies, in order to identify their drivers and hurdles. For this, a variety of companies were invited to present their business models.Industrial Ecolog