They found that manual disassembly of standard battery modules typically takes an average of 40–60 min and is associated with high labor costs. Consequently, a growing preference has been observed for more efficient mechanically assisted or automated disassembly.
Current battery packs are not designed to be disassembled, spaces between modules are narrow, and joint technologies are mostly irreversible (e.g., glued parts, welded plates, one-way screws), bringing to a difficult non-destructive disassembly.
The design of the disassembly system must consider the analysis of potentially explosive atmospheres (ATEX) 1 of the area around the battery pack and, if necessary, adopt tools enabled to work in the corresponding ATEX zone.
Following the recommendations given after the safety analysis, as a specific potentially explosive atmosphere (ATEX) 3 zone, the battery pack was manually disassembled. The manual disassembly brought to a disassembly procedure which was decomposed and analysed to identify how to automate the same operations with a robot.
The analysis highlights that a complete automatic disassembly remains difficult, while human-robot collaborative disassembly guarantees high flexibility and productivity. The paper introduces guidelines for designing a robotic cell to disassemble a battery pack with the support of an operator.
However, the current lack of standardisation in design remains a significant barrier to automating battery disassembly . Additionally, the uncertain conditions of end-of-life or damaged EVBs add to the complexity of executing the disassembly process effectively.