Electric vehicle battery secondary use under government subsidy: A closed-loop supply chain perspective

Electric vehicle batteries should normally be removed from electric vehicles when their power capacity fa l l to 70% ? 80% of new batteries. However, removed batteries can sti l l be seconda r y used for other purposes, such as energy storage, before remanufacturing. To promote electric vehicle batter y seconda r y use, this research studies a two-period battery seconda r y use closed-loop supply chain model consisting of a batter y (re)manufacturer, a secondary user and a government. The government may provide subsidies for the seconda r y users to incentivize electric vehicle battery secondar y use. It is found that, only when the recycled batteries? remaining power ca-pacity is relatively high or their remanufacturing rate is relatively low, the government wi l l consider a subsidy. In addition, under government?s subsidy regulation, seconda r y batter y users need to determine the quantities of batteries with relatively high power capacity for seconda r y use. Theoretically, this study enriches the research field of sustainable development of electric vehicle batter y industry. Practically, this study also helps practi-tioners to better manage closed-loop supply chains with batte r y seconda r y use, and to enhance supply chain efficiency. Also, this study contributes to governments? regulator y decisions toward electric vehicle industries to balance economy and sustainability in society.