Designing a Sustainable UK End-of-Life Reverse Supply Chain for Electric Vehicle Batteries

Abstract

Environmental, legal, social and economic concerns have recently prompted manufacturing organisations to implement more sustainable supply chain methods and create end-of-life (EoL) reverse supply chains (RSC). This research aims to explore the requirements to design a sustainable EoL RSC in an emerging sector. Additionally, it aims to develop a modelling tool that facilitates the EoL RSC design and assessment. This research uses a mixed-method case study approach and develops a discrete-event simulation tool to study the design of a sustainable EoL RSC. The study findings indicate that the inefficiency in the EoL processes and the uncertainty in the EoL market have a significant impact on the sustainability of a RSC for EV batteries. Hence, the implementation of regulatory frameworks and collaborative methods is imperative for emerging RSCs in order to enhance the efficiency of their operations. Furthermore, in order to create EoL solutions that are both environmentally friendly and economically feasible, it is imperative to conduct testing of these solutions in prospective markets. This study presents a simulation model that academics and practitioners can use to model an emerging EoL reverse supply chain and measure the effect of design changes in terms of operational, economic and environmental impact.