Britain's 'Road to Zero': Analysis of the Potential Electric Vehicles Battery Circular Built Environment

Nana seeks to deeper understand the policy dynamic of Britain’s ‘Road to Zero’ strategy, which sets out ambition for at least 50% — and as many as 70% — of new car sales to be ultra low emission by 2030, alongside up to 40% of new vans.

His research can be divided into four sections:

Understanding the policy dynamics and influencing factors. Nana would like to comprehend the thoughts and feelings around Britain’s zero emission electric vehicle strategy from stakeholders and interest groups.
Governance and Infrastructure. Nana aims to further investigate the current schemes and public education around electric vehicle updates and what infrastructure networks for mass uptake could mean for the public.
Circular economy paradigms. This involves exploring UK protocol/best practices for battery second/end of life use, following the Global Value Chain.
Lithium-ion battery Global Value Chain. Nana seeks to investigate ethical and environmental sustainability concerns within the raw materials and supply chains for electric vehicles.

Circular economy chains aim to maximise value at every point in a product’s life, while also creating new jobs, reducing waste and costs, reducing resource consumption & risks and harnessing environmental benefits. Lithium-ion batteries have the potential to help reduce poor air quality and contribute to decarbonising the transport sector.

Britain’s ‘Road to Zero in 2050’ lacks coherent strategy, as there is simply not sufficient resource at present to support such an ambitious plan. Nana’s investigations include looking into how Britain would ‘close the loop’ to create a circular business model, taking into consideration current ethical issues such as child labour within the cobalt supply chain and the reusing/recycling of electric vehicle batteries.

Some of Nana’s preliminary results include Local Authority stakeholder opinions that there should be ‘recognised international standards’ and experts in lithium-ion batteries and circular economies stating that these types of batteries are ‘not a burden on the environment but rather valuable’.

Nana’s case studies include the Renault Zoe, which sells the consumer the car but merely rents the battery, allowing them to safely recycle it when it is returned, and the Amsterdam Energy Arena, which uses electric vehicle battery packs to store energy.

Dr Nana O.Bonsu