Used and damaged cars are often disposed of via energy-intensive scrapping processes, even when many of their parts are still fully functional. In the EKODA project, Fraunhofer researchers are developing an alternative. First, they examine each component in a complex testing procedure. Then they use an evaluation system to generate recommendations for how these components could be reused.
This strategy optimizes the lifespan of the individual parts, making it possible to establish a sustainable circular economy in the mobility sector. Used batteries, gear shafts and cogwheels could even show up in other applications outside the automotive industry.
A camera moves slowly over a lithium ion battery, which has just been extracted from a car that was damaged in an accident. It records the battery type, model, serial number and power class (in kilowatts) and compares this information with an internal database. Next, the battery cover is removed through a semi-automated process.
A system then records the battery’s current charge level, the functionality of its control electronics and the condition of the individual battery cells.
Evaluation software developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU then uses this data to create a detailed profile of the battery condition, which is analyzed and used to provide recommendations for reuse.
An intact battery that is only three or four years old, for example, could be transferred to a used car of the same type. If the energy storage system is older, it would be possible to use it in a smaller agricultural machine. Even if the battery has multiple defective cells, it may still be suitable for stationary use, for example, as electricity storage in a home photovoltaic system.
The battery system does not need to be thrown away. It gets a second chance that is tailored to its specific abilities. The same principle of examination and reuse can be applied to other car parts too.
“The decisive factor here is that the individual parts are disassembled carefully via a standardized and automated process, as we need to find possible ways of reusing the components right from the start.“, states Dr Uwe Frieß, head of the department for body construction, assembly and disassembly at Fraunhofer IWU
A team of researchers from Fraunhofer IWU in Chemnitz are currently developing and optimizing the evaluation system. The software, which is equipped with AI algorithms, is one of the core technologies of the EKODA project—which aims to bring about a circular economy through efficient, economically viable disassembly and processing.
EKODA is backed by a grant initiative from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), as part of its mission to set out on the “path to sustainable mobility through circular value creation.”
Aside from Fraunhofer IWU, other members of the project consortium include the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT in Oberhausen and an array of partners from the world of industry.
