Recirculate Disassembly System Gives New Life to Old EV Batteries

Recirculate, an EU-funded project, has spent the last 18 months developing a smarter way to recycle the batteries from electric vehicles (EVs). The most difficult step in the recycling process is physically disassembling the battery pack to remove the individual modules and then the individual battery cells. To reduce the time and cost of this process, the Recirculate project used a KUKA KR10 industrial robot and some specialized machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to locate the key components and program the robot.

The Recirculate project has designed a system to disassemble EV batteries to help forge a sustainable, circular economy. Image used courtesy of Recirculate

EV Battery Recycling

As EVs become more commonplace, the question arises: what should be done with the old batteries? Ideally, these batteries would be recycled, rather than placed in a landfill. The materials used for their construction are expensive and can be difficult to source ethically. Some of these materials also represent an environmental threat if not properly disposed of and can end up leaching toxic chemicals into the water table.

The nature of EV batteries, however, is that they are difficult to recycle. Disassembly is a drawn-out process, making materials separation difficult. In many cases, it is simply less expensive to send the old battery to the landfill than to recycle it.

Recirculate’s robotic cell uses a KUKA KR10 industrial robot equipped with tools specially made to disassemble EV battery packs. Image used courtesy of KUKA

Dismantling EV Batteries

One of the most time consuming and labor intensive steps in battery recycling for EVs is disassembly. Each of these customized battery packs has dozens of screws, wire harnesses, connectors, washers, and other hardware, each of which must be painstakingly removed.

For battery recycling to be possible, batteries must be stripped down into individual cells. The disassembly first removes the lid, then separates the pack into modules, and then the modules into individual battery cells. The lid itself may contain as many as 50 individual screws to remove before any other disassembly can occur.

In order to simplify this process, the Recirculate team has developed a robotic cell that disassembles battery packs. At the heart of this cell is a KUKA KR10 industrial robot, equipped with screwdrivers and vacuum grippers. Each tool has a depth camera installed so that the robot can perform operations in x, y and z coordinate space.

With the use of machine learning models, Recirculate’s system maps out battery parts for robotic disassembly. Image used courtesy of Adobe Stock

Leveraging ML/AI

Physical battery disassembly via a robot is possible, and has been for a few decades. However, the complicated bolt patterns and variations in construction between EV battery manufacturers require extensive programming. So far, this has been cost-prohibitive.

Recirculate’s system utilizes ML and a depth camera on the robot’s tool to determine numerous bolt configurations and move the tools to the appropriate locations. The ML algorithms can compare photos to known libraries of battery packs and program the robot accordingly. For damaged or new models, the algorithm can help recyclers build a new library. Currently, this system represents 18 months of work and countless manhours to come to fruition.

A Circular Battery Economy

EVs offer some promise for reducing pollution and a host of other problems. The unintended consequences of their proliferation will be how to dispose of the large and potentially toxic batteries. Projects like Recirculate are the first step in reducing this waste stream that is forecasted to grow exponentially over the next few decades.