Will They Die Another Day? A Decision Support Perspective on Reusing Electric Vehicle Batteries

Beverungen Daniel, Klör Benjamin, Bräuer Sebastian, Monhof Markus

Abstract
The diffusion of electric mobility suffers from an immature and expensive battery technology. Reusing electric vehicle batteries (EVBs) is a prospective opportunity for lowering the total costs of ownership of electric vehicles and using scarce natural resources more efficiently. However, to determine how to reuse a battery is a complex decision problem. In this study we set out to develop a design theory for a class of decision support systems (DSS) that implement two main functions: First, a consideration set of feasible reuse scenarios is compiled based on an assessment of a battery's structure and condition. Second, an offering is configured based on bundling batteries with customized services. We conclude with an outlook to our ongoing design science project that will, amongst others, explore to what extent systems instantiated from the design theory can remedy adverse effects caused by the ‘lemon market' properties of the second-hand battery market.

Keywords
Decision Support Systems (DSS); Software Architecture; Electric Vehicles; Electric Vehicle Batteries; Traction Batteries; Reuse; Service Science; Sustainability