Activities and Structures in Circular Electric Vehicle Battery Supply Chains

Licentiate thesis, 2026

The transition to electric mobility has created an urgent need to reconsider the management of electric vehicle (EV) batteries after their first life. As numbers increase, questions arise regarding battery collection, treatment, and potential pathways for reuse, repurposing, and recycling. Circular strategies can extend battery lifespan and retain material value; however, their implementation requires significant changes to existing supply chain structures. Research on circular battery supply chains remains fragmented, providing a limited understanding of how activities, actors, and flows are structured and coordinated to enable circular pathways. Furthermore, insufficient insight exists into how these structures may evolve in the future. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to understand the activities and likely future structures in circular EV battery supply chains.

This thesis comprises three studies that investigate circular EV battery supply chains. Study 1 synthesises existing knowledge through a systematic literature review on activities for circular EV battery supply chains. Study 2 employs semi-structured interviews to identify current actors, activities, flows, and industry perspectives on future developments. Study 3 applies a Delphi study to explore future-oriented perspectives.

The findings reveal the emergence of new actors and responsibilities within the EV battery sector. Seven crucial aspects influencing the development of circular EV battery supply chains were identified, including collection models, ownership, control and data governance, actor diversity, logistics alignment, and economic and regulatory interdependencies across circular pathways. The results highlight tensions between regulatory objectives, such as recycling targets, and repurposing strategies. Battery collection is identified as a critical enabler for scalability; yet collection remains underexplored in the literature and challenging to implement in practice.

This thesis advances theoretical understanding of circular EV battery supply chains by identifying supply chain activities, actors, flows, and structural requirements, and by connecting these elements across circular strategy pathways. Furthermore, it provides practical insights for managers and decision-makers seeking to design and adapt supply chain structures in alignment with current practices and likely future developments.