Because of climate changes and the increasing cost of raw materials, the mobility will become more and more electric in the future years. It is already the case for automotive and the first electric car from Renault company, “Renault Zoé” appeared in 2009. So the first models are now reaching their End-Of-Life and it is time to consider their dismantling. The traditional recycling industry used for Internal Combustion Engine vehicles is not adapted to electric vehicle powertrains. This study deals with the disassembly of 2 electric powertrains of Renault Zoé vehicle. All the components have been separated, identified, their chemical composition has been determined as well as their potential recyclability. We have highlighted that sometimes, some materials should be substituted by more recyclable others and that some subsets should be redesigned in order to facilitate the disassembly. A strategy to maximize the gain, reduce wastes has been built and some recommendations for the future design of these electric powertrains has been proposed

GALLONE, T

GRIMAUD, G.

JACQUET, Philippe

VAUCHERET, Alexis

SAM : Science Arts et Métiers

Science Arts & Métiers (SAM)is an open access repository that collects the work of Arts et Métiers Institute ofTechnology researchers and makes it freely available over the web where possible.This is an author-deposited version published in: https://sam.ensam.euHandle ID: .http://hdl.handle.net/10985/24721To cite this version :Philippe JACQUET, Alexis VAUCHERET, G. GRIMAUD, T GALLONE - Eco-Innovation forRecycling/Remanufacturing Electric Vehicle Engines - In: 12th International Conference onIntegrated Design and Production, Maroc, 2022-05-10 - CIP 2022: Advances in Integrated Designand Production II - 2023Any correspondence concerning this service should be sent to the repositoryAdministrator : scienceouverte@ensam.euEco-Innovation for Recycling/RemanufacturingElectric Vehicle EnginesP. Jacquet1,2(B), A. Vaucheret1,2, G. Grimaud3, and T. Gallone41 Ecole Catholique des Arts et Métiers, LaBECAM, 40, Montée Saint Barthélemy, 69005 Lyon,France{Philippe.jacquet,Alexis.vaucheret}@ecam.fr2 Arts et Métiers Institute of Technology, LaBoMaP, HESAM Université, 71250 Cluny, France3 MTB RECYCLING, Quartier de la gare, 38460 Trept, Franceg.grimaud@mtb.fr4 ICRM «Impulse Circula’r Raw Materials», 6 rue de la Richarderie, 78760Jouars-Pontchartrain, FranceAbstract. Because of climate changes and the increasing cost of raw materials,the mobility will become more and more electric in the future years. It is alreadythe case for automotive and the first electric car from Renault company, “RenaultZoé” appeared in 2009. So the first models are now reaching their End-Of-Lifeand it is time to consider their dismantling. The traditional recycling industryused for Internal Combustion Engine vehicles is not adapted to electric vehiclepowertrains. This study deals with the disassembly of 2 electric powertrains ofRenault Zoé vehicle. All the components have been separated, identified, theirchemical composition has been determined as well as their potential recyclability.We have highlighted that sometimes, some materials should be substituted by morerecyclable others and that some subsets should be redesigned in order to facilitatethe disassembly. A strategy to maximize the gain, reduce wastes has been builtand some recommendations for the future design of these electric powertrains hasbeen proposed.Keywords: Recycling · Electric vehicle powertrain · Eco-design1 IntroductionThe goal of e-REVE project (Eco-Innovation for Recycling/Remanufacturing ElectricVehicle Engines) is to find solutions for recycling and add value to the different materialscontained inside electric vehicle powertrains. Up to now, because of the specific manu-facturing of electric vehicle powertrains it is not possible to use the traditional recyclingmethods which are currently used for Internal Combustion Engines Vehicles. Some peo-ple are worrying about this for some years (Hermine 2014; Rapport RSE Renault 2015)and a team project has been created to bring answers to this challenge. The team is madeup of.MTB Recycling, a world leader in industrial waste management which focuses itsactivities on three major areas: recycling, equipment manufacturing and engineering.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23615-0_59RENAULT for its skills in electric vehicles design.INDRA, automotive recycler which provides a global offer in the End-Of-Life Vehicle(ELV) sector.ECAM Lyon, an engineering school for its skills in materials characterization.ICRM, a circular economy consulting company.At the beginning of the 2000’s, several events have made electric engines for vehi-cles more and more present on the market: atmospheric pollution, depletion of natu-ral resources,… According to European Union proposals “Fit for 55”, greenhouse gasemissions must be reduced by 55% by 2030 and 100% by 2035 (compared to 1990), sothat Electrical Engines should progressively substitute Internal Combustion Engines forvehicles (see Fig. 1).Fig. 1. Evolution perspective for Internal Combustion Engines. (Plate-forme automobile, filièreautomobile & mobilité 2021)In 2019, D’Adamo and Rosa published a large literature review (129 references)about the recycling of Electric Vehicles. Most of the references deal with the recyclingof batteries which seems to be a key point for numerous laboratories but very few concernthe recycling of the different components of electric engines (Bdiwi et al. 2016; Li et al.2014, 2018; Elwert 2015; Soo et al. 2018; Kibira and Jain 2011). It seems that this globalapproach for electric Vehicles is still few developed for the moment.In the first part, this paper will present the Ecodesign approach which is to our pointof view a key point to have in mind if a manufactured product is designed for futurerecycling. Then experimental results are presented and divided in two parts: from atechnical point of view with the dismantling of the different subsets and their materialanalysis but also from an economic point of view because recycling will be developedonly if a financial gain is obtained.2 EcodesignThe description of the term “eco-design” is given in the standard NF X 30-264 (Manage-ment environmental – Aide à la mise en place d’une demarche d’éco-conception 2013).The Mechanical Engineering, Design and Manufacture Department from the Manch-ester Metropolitan University also published a few years ago (Simon and Dowie 1993)some recommandations about this subject. Before thinking about the different recyclingtechnics for materials from End-Of-Life Vehicles (electric or not), the first point to takeinto consideration is the disassembly of a manufactured product. That is why the soonerthis step is considered, the easier the recycling operations will be and if possible fromthe design. For a manufactured product, three subsets have been identified: materials,fasteners and connectors and finally the product structure.Concerning the materials, the requirements are:Minimize the number of different materials.In case of subsets difficult to disassembly, use the same material.In case of polymer materials, make the symbols visible.Favor recyclable materials.Clearly identify dangerous parts if present to put aside quickly.Concerning fasteners and connectors, the requirements are:Minimize the number of fasteners.Easy access fasteners.Fasteners should be disassembly with standard tools, if not it should be easily breakable.Avoid adhesive junction between 2 parts which are incompatible with recycling.Minimize length and number of connection cables.Concerning the product structure, the requirements are:Minimize the number of parts.Realize a design as modular as possible with separated functions.Easy access for parts which have a high value regarding recycling.Aggregate non-recyclable parts at the same place, easy to remove.Avoid filled polymers.The way of dismantling and recycling End-Of-Life Vehicles has been describedby several authors (Hao et al. 2017; Pan and Li 2020; Zhou et al. 2019). The firststep consist on separating the different subsets and salvage all the fluids and toxic ordangerous products (oil, batteries, brake fluid, engine coolant,…). All the componentsin good condition which can easily be sold are put aside (tires, mirrors, body parts,…).Non-metallic parts which have their own recycling channel are sorted out (glass, rubber,plastics,…). The remainder is then milled and form what is called “Automotive ShreddedResidue” (ASR). These ASR are either landfilled or sorted for recycling.The benefit of a manual disassembly prior an automatic grinding is the recoveryrate of materials for recycling. According to a Swedish study (Tasala Gradin et al.2013), an automatic grinding lead to a result for recycling materials of only 73% but85% if a manual disassembly is realized before. Anyway, a manual disassembly is timeconsuming: as an example, it took more than 6h for three operators to dismantle a“Volkswagen Vista” vehicle (Tian and Chan 2016). The ratio cost/benefit of recycledmaterials should be taken into account.3 Experimental ResultsOur work focused on both understanding the technical and economic elements. Thechallenge was to enable short loop reuse of different materials from electric vehiclepowertrains.3.1 Technical Point of ViewThe different subsets of an electric powertrain are presented on Fig. 2. The main compo-nents are: wire harnesses (1), electrical gear motor, electric power unit and junction box(2). Each subset has been completely disassembled but to maximize the recovery of thedifferent materials (especially strategic materials) and respond to a short loop challenge,a manual disassembly is necessary.Fig. 2. Description of the different subsets of an electric powertrain (Renault) (Grimaud 2018).As an example a complete disassembly of a junction box is presented on Fig. 3.It was also fundamental to involve an important sorting during this disassembly inorder to think precisely about the rest of the process for each organ (see Fig. 4).Then, for each component, its composition has been determined by different chemi-cal analysis (IR Spectroscopy, Glow-Discharge Optical Emission Spectrometry, EnergyDispersive Spectroscopy) depending on its shape, size, materials family,… As an exam-ple, the composition of some containing copper parts is given in Table 1; most of themare almost pure copper or copper alloys with some tin (bronze).Fig. 3. Junction box after complete disassembly.Fig. 4. Wire harnesses (left) and screws and bolts (right)Table 1. Composition of containing copper parts (GDOES analysis).Cu Sn Sb As CoPart identification Mass percentage1 99.97 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.012 99.97 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.013 99.67 0.34 – – –4 99.69 0.31 – – –5 98.51 1.49 – – –6 98.75 1.25 – – –7 99.42 0.58 – – –8 99.34 0.66 – – –9 99.23 2.77 – – –3.2 Economic Point of ViewThe constitution of the three main families of powertrains from a “Renault Fluence”vehicle is presented in Table 2. The major difference concerns the content of copperwhich is very much higher in case of electric powertrain.As the mineral resources concerning this metal are limited, its price is continuouslyincreasing that is why it is more and more interesting to salvage it.Furthermore, as shown on Fig. 5, economic gains are exponential when qualityapproaches 100%, that is why the chemical composition of each part is important to beknown in order to avoid mixture of different alloys.Table 2. Constitution of different powertrains (Grimaud 2018).Petrol engine Diesel engine Electric enginePowertrain (kg) 141 141 113Aluminum (kg) 24.6 25.5 32.8Copper (kg) 0.6 0.7 15.9Steel (kg) 102.9 106.6 48Others (kg) (polymers. …) 12.8 14.2 15.7The possible gains are a balance between the costs (essentially workforce + energy)and the material recovery. The dismantling of the first powertrain was a complete discov-ery for our team so that the necessary time to find the right tool (screwdriver, spanner,grinder,..), the right procedure was quite long. However, the duration to reach eachcomponent has been measured.After this first experience, a second electric powertrain (Renault Zoé Vehicle) hasbeen disassembled with an optimized duration and it took approximately 95 min for 2operators.Then a complete table was realized. This table contains for each component, itsweight, its composition, the price per kg of this material if recycled and the necessaryduration to collect it. With the help of this table, it has been possible to draw the diagrampresented on Fig. 6.We can notice that after only 32% of the total disassembly duration (95 min), already65% of the possible gain is obtained. Of course, it is possible to obtain a higher gain buta balance between the gain and the necessary time to get it should be deeper studied.4 ConclusionAfter this work, the exact composition of each component of an electric powertrainand the necessary time to collect it are known. Some of them can be reuse (screw,connectors, wires,…), some others can be sold for recycling (steel, copper, aluminum,polymers,…). This study allowed us to realize that the partial dismantling then thetreatment of different fractions of GMPe makes it to obtain at the same time a suitableFig. 5. Data from the London Metal Exchange (October 2018)Fig. 6. Evolution of the possible gain versus time.economic profitability with a final machine valuation over 700e/t. At this material value,it is necessary to subtract all the processing costs. We have highlighted that sometimes,some materials should be substituted by more recyclable others and that some subsetsshould be redesigned in order to facilitate the disassembly. In the next years, electricvehicles will be more and more present (the first ones are already reaching their End-Of-Life) so that it is necessary to follow these recommendations, as soon as the designfor cost saving and reduce future wastes.Acknowledgements. The authors wish to thank BPI France which has partially supported thiswork.ReferencesBdiwi, M., Rashid, A., Putz, M.: Autonomous disassembly of electric vehicle motors basedon robot cognition. In: Proceedings of the ICRA 2016—IEEE International Conference onRobotics and Automation, pp. 2500–2505. IEEE: Stockholm, SwedenElwert, T., et al.: Current developments and challenges in the recycling of key components of(hybrid) electric vehicles. Recycling 1, 25–60 (2015)Grimaud, G.: Recyclage des groupes motopropulseurs électriques. Internal Report (2018)Hao, H., Qiao, Q., Liu, Z., Zhao, F.: Resources, conservation and recycling impact of recyclingon energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from electric vehicle production: TheChina 2025 case. 122, 114–125 (2017)Hermine, J.: La mise en oeuvre de l’économie circulaire au sein du groupe Renault. Responsab.Environ. 76, 45–49 (2014)Kibira, D., Jain. S.: Impact of hybrid and electric vehicles on automobile recycling infrastructure.In: Proceedings of the WSC’11—2011 IEEE Winter Simulation Conference, Phoenix, AZ,USA, 11–14 Dec 2011; pp. 1072–1083Li, J., Barwood, M., Rahimifard, S.: An automated approach for disassembly and recycling ofElectric Vehicle components. In: Proceedings of the IEVC 2014—IEEE International ElectricVehicle Conference, Florence, Italy, 17–19 Dec 2014, pp. 1–6Li, J., Barwood, M., Rahimifard, S.: Robotic disassembly for increased recovery of strategi-cally important materials from electrical vehicles. Robot. Comput. Integr. Manuf. 50, 203–212(2018)Pan, Y., Li, H.: Sustainability evaluation of end-of-life vehicle recycling based on energy analysis: a case study of an end-of-life vehicle recycling enterprise in China. J. Clean. Prod. 131(2016),219–227 (2020)Plate-forme automobile, filière automobile & mobilité (2021). https://pfa-auto.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Feuille-de-route-filie%CC%80re-auto-a%CC%80-2030-vF.pdf. Accessed 10Jan 2022Rapport RSE 2015: Groupe Renault. https://www.renaultgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rapport-rse-2015_vf_.pdf. Accessed 26 Jan 2022Simon, M., Dowie, T.: Disassembly process planning. In: Proceedings of the Thirtieth InternationalMATADOR Conference. Palgrave, London, 1993Soo, V.K., Peeters, J.R., Paraskevas, D., Compston, P., Doolan, M., Duflou, J.R.: Sustainablealuminium recycling of end-of-life products: a joining techniques perspective. J. Clean. Prod.178, 119–132 (2018)Tasala Gradin, K., Luttropp, C., Björklund, A.: Investigating improved vehicle dismantling andfragmentation technology 54, 23–29 (2013)Tian, J., Chen, M.: Assessing the economics of processing end-of-life vehicles through manualdismantling. Waste Manag. 56, 384–395 (2016)Zhou, F., Lim, M.K., He, Y., Lin, Y., Chen, S.: End-of-life vehicle ( ELV ) recycling management:improving performance using an ISM approach. J. Clean. Prod. 228, 231–243 (2019)

Eco-Innovation for Recycling/Remanufacturing Electric Vehicle Engines

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Eco-Innovation for Recycling/Remanufacturing Electric Vehicle Engines

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