Life Cycle Assessment of Remanufacturing Hybrid Vehicle Batteries: An Australia Case

As hybrid drive technology has matured and gained widespread acceptance globally, including in Australia, the need for properly managing end-of-life batteries has become increasingly important. Among various circular economy strategies, remanufacturing is regarded as a promising approach to maximise the useful lifetime within a closed product cycle, yet its environmental advantages have not been fully quantified. This paper investigates the environmental benefits of remanufacturing end-of-life batteries as an alternative to virgin battery replacement for hybrid vehicles. The analysis conducts a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment based on first-hand data from a local industry partner. The results demonstrate that remanufactured batteries exhibit significant advantages across various impact categories, particularly in reducing the carbon footprint by up to 94% compared to virgin battery replacements. Additionally, this study provides an empirical example of the environmental feasibility and advantages of remanufacturing as a key circular economy strategy.