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Toorajipour, Reza
Publications (9 of 9) Show all publications
Chirumalla, K., Dahlquist, E., Kulkov, I., Johansson, G., Stefan, I., Shabani, M., . . . Wallin, F. (2024). Circular Business Models for the Electric Vehicle Battery Second Life: Navigating Battery Ecosystem Actors Towards Circularity. Västerås: Mälardalens universitet
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Circular Business Models for the Electric Vehicle Battery Second Life: Navigating Battery Ecosystem Actors Towards Circularity
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2024 (English)Report (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The electrification of vehicles has become a critical means to achieve climate-neutral transportation. As more electric vehicles (EV) are adopted, an increasing number of lithiumion batteries will be utilized, inevitably experiencing capacity degradation over time. Retaining the value of these retired batteries through remanufacturing, reusing, and repurposing to create a second life holds significant environmental and economic benefits. However, many companies within the battery ecosystem struggle to capitalize on this opportunity due to a lack of business insight and suitable business models tailored to their operational contexts.

The ReCreate (Second Life Management of Electric Vehicle Batteries) research project was initiated to address these industrial needs through close collaboration with selected companies in the battery ecosystem. The project aims to define appropriate circular business models, methods, and processes to guide battery ecosystem actors in developing and implementing electric vehicle battery second life solutions, thereby advancing circularity around batteries and climate-neutral objectives. 

This handbook represents the culmination of three years of research within the ReCreate project. Its purpose is to present a simplified and practical overview of project outcomes across a series of key chapters. Comprising six chapters, the handbook will begin by discussing barriers and enablers, followed by circular business models and battery ecosystem management. It will then delve into design principles and performance monitoring guidelines, concluding with an integrated framework for second life and circular solutions for EV batteries. 

Each chapter briefly presents the main findings of the theme and concludes with discussion questions. The discussion questions include suggestions for relevant templates for workshops, and all templates are conveniently provided in the appendix for practical application. These templates serve as boundary objects, offering a starting point for internal and external cross-functional and cross-organizational dialogues within the electric vehicle battery ecosystem. They facilitate discussions and collaborations among various stakeholders, fostering alignment and synergy in developing circular business models for the second life of EV batteries.  

By facilitating reflection on current business strategies, needs, and pain points, the handbook aims to aid in the definition of future second life business strategies. We anticipate that this handbook will serve as a valuable resource for actors within the EV battery ecosystem, supporting their journey towards climate-neutral transportation. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Västerås: Mälardalens universitet, 2024
National Category
Business Administration Energy Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-66332 (URN)978-91-7485-642-2 (ISBN)
Funder
XPRES - Initiative for excellence in production researchKnowledge Foundation
Note

Design and layout by Andreea Strineholm

Available from: 2024-04-02 Created: 2024-04-02 Last updated: 2024-04-08Bibliographically approved
Toorajipour, R., Chirumalla, K., Johansson, G., Dahlquist, E. & Wallin, F. (2024). Implementing circular business models for the second-life battery of electric vehicles: Challenges and enablers from an ecosystem perspective. Business Strategy and the Environment
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2024 (English)In: Business Strategy and the Environment, ISSN 0964-4733, E-ISSN 1099-0836Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This study adopts an ecosystem perspective to provide a detailed understanding of key challenges and enablers for implementing circular business models for electric vehicle battery second life. Although academia and practitioners believe electric vehicle (EV) batteries’ second life is a potential solution, the commercial implementations are still far away. A crucial step toward such implementations is to identify the key challenges and enablers of circular business models. The criticality of this step is even more evident when approaching second life business models from an ecosystem perspective, where multiple stakeholders are involved in the creation, capture, and delivery of value. This research conducts an explorative study with 15 companies in the EV battery ecosystem and identifies nine categories of key challenges and seven categories of key enablers. Based on priority dimensions (short/long term) and the responsible entity (firm/ecosystem related), the study proposes a guiding framework to address challenges and enablers. The study contributes to the circular business model innovation and ecosystems literature related to the EV battery second life.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
WILEY, 2024
Keywords
battery circularity, battery second life, circular business model innovation, climate-neutrality, EV batteries, EV battery ecosystem, second-life business models, second-life EV batteries
National Category
Economics and Business
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-68325 (URN)10.1002/bse.3941 (DOI)001299370500001 ()
Available from: 2024-09-04 Created: 2024-09-04 Last updated: 2024-09-04Bibliographically approved
Dahlquist, E., Wallin, F., Chirumalla, K., Toorajipour, R. & Johansson, G. (2023). Balancing Power in Sweden Using Different Renewable Resources, Varying Prices, and Storages Like Batteries in a Resilient Energy System. Energies, 16(12), 4734-4734
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Balancing Power in Sweden Using Different Renewable Resources, Varying Prices, and Storages Like Batteries in a Resilient Energy System
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2023 (English)In: Energies, E-ISSN 1996-1073, Vol. 16, no 12, p. 4734-4734Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In this paper, balancing electricity production using renewable energy such as wind power, PV cells, hydropower, and CHP (combined heat and power) with biomass is carried out in relation to electricity consumption in primarily one major region in Sweden, SE-3, which contains 75% of the country's population. The time perspective is hours and days. Statistics with respect to power production and consumption are analyzed and used as input for power-balance calculations. How long periods are with low or high production, as well as the energy for charge and discharge that is needed to maintain a generally constant power production, is analyzed. One conclusion is that if the difference in production were to be completely covered with battery capacity it would be expensive, but if a large part of the difference were met by a shifting load it would be possible to cover the rest with battery storage in an economical way. To enhance the economy with battery storage, second-life batteries are proposed to reduce the capital cost in particular. Batteries are compared to hydrogen as an energy carrier. The efficiency of a battery system is higher than that of hydrogen plus fuel cells, but in general much fewer precious materials are needed with an H-2/fuel-cell system than with batteries. The paper discusses how to make the energy system more robust and resilient.

Keywords
electric power, balancing, batteries, load shift, resilience
National Category
Energy Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-63867 (URN)10.3390/en16124734 (DOI)001017053600001 ()2-s2.0-85163894100 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2023-07-13 Created: 2023-07-13 Last updated: 2023-08-28Bibliographically approved
Toorajipour, R. (2023). Circular Business Models for Electric Vehicle Battery Second Life: Challenges, enablers, and preconditions from an ecosystem perspective. (Licentiate dissertation). Eskilstuna: Mälardalens universitet
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2023 (English)Licentiate thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Sustainability has become a critical issue due to global warming, scarcity of resources, and the high costs of raw materials. It is vital to reconsider linear business models and value creation processes and transition towards circularity. The growth of the electric vehicles market is promising; however, it comes with a major downside. Soon there will be a considerable number of used batteries without the original capacity and potentially hazardous that cannot go to landfill due to environmental and economic reasons. In this regard, the use of electric vehicle batteries in second life (EVBSL) is suggested as a solution. EVBSL comes with benefits such as the extension of the battery life cycle, extracting value from the remaining capacity of the battery, reduction in the upfront costs of the electric vehicle, and create new revenue streams for the companies. And since various actors are involved in EVBSL, it is essential to study this phenomenon from an ecosystem perspective.

Despite the recent focus of researchers on EVBSL, there are several gaps in the current literature on this topic. The first gap concerns the challenges and enablers of implementing circular business models (CBMs) for EVBSL. The second gap concerns the second life operations of electric vehicles (EV). There is a lack of research on the solutions that can guide the ecosystem actors to manage EVBSL-related activities. And the third gap concerns the limited research on the preconditions of circular business model innovation for the EVBSL that focuses on the transition from linear business models to CBMs. Therefore, this thesis aims to develop knowledge of the factors that influence the implementation of CBMs for EVBSL from an ecosystem perspective.

This study intends to address these gaps by conducting qualitative research. An exploratory research design has been deemed adequate due to its flexibility and compatibility. This research draws on the existing literature on the second life of EV batteries, and circular business models. In total, 20 interviews and 15 workshops have been conducted covering 15 companies in the EVBSL ecosystem. Purposeful sampling was employed to select the EVBSL ecosystem actors with the aim of covering the key actors such as OEMs, battery manufacturer, recycling companies, remanufacturers, energy utility companies, material supplier for battery parts, construction and housing company, and public transportation companies. The collected data was analyzed via qualitative methods such as thematic analysis. 

The results of this study have led to the identification of nine key challenges and seven key enablers. Moreover, two dimensions (i.e., time frame and responsible entity) are identified from the empirical data, through which companies can structurally categorize and work with the identified key challenges and enablers. Based on this, a guiding framework is suggested that could support firms in the EV battery ecosystem to establish and manage various configurations for second-life operations in a series of phases such as firm-level initiation, ecosystem construction, firm-level optimization, and ecosystem orchestration. Finally, the current linear business models (traditional sales of products and services, product maintenance and support, R&D, consultancy, and services), upcoming CBMs (regenerating, looping, and sharing), and the preconditions (for value creation, capture, and delivery) for the circular business model innovation are extracted. 

This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in several ways. It enhances the current literature on challenges and enablers of EVBSL by covering various actors in this ecosystem and extends the knowledge on the scope of these factors. Moreover, this study is the first one that suggests a guiding framework for the ecosystem actors through configurations for second-life operations while shedding light on the preconditions of circular business innovation for EVBSL. This study also provides interesting insights for practitioners and managers in the EVBSL ecosystem.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Eskilstuna: Mälardalens universitet, 2023. p. 73
Series
Mälardalen University Press Licentiate Theses, ISSN 1651-9256 ; 335
Keywords
Electric vehicle battery second life, circular business models, ecosystem, electric vehicles, EV batteries, circular business model innovation, circular economy, preconditions, second life configurations, battery second life
National Category
Other Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering Business Administration Other Engineering and Technologies not elsewhere specified
Research subject
Innovation and Design
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-61443 (URN)978-91-7485-579-1 (ISBN)
Presentation
2023-02-17, C3-003, Mälardalens universitet, Eskilstuna, 13:15 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Projects
RECREATE project
Funder
Knowledge Foundation, 1602, 2019XPRES - Initiative for excellence in production research, 0219, 2016
Available from: 2023-01-10 Created: 2023-01-07 Last updated: 2023-01-27Bibliographically approved
Toorajipour, R., Chirumalla, K., Johansson, G., Dahlquist, E. & Wallin, F. (2023). Implementing circular business models for electric vehicle battery second life: Challenges and enablers from an ecosystem perspective.
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2023 (English)Manuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
Keywords
EV batteries;
National Category
Business Administration Other Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering
Research subject
Innovation and Design
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-61437 (URN)
Available from: 2023-01-05 Created: 2023-01-05 Last updated: 2023-05-17Bibliographically approved
Toorajipour, R., Oghazi, P., Sohrabpour, V., Patel, P. C. & Mostaghel, R. (2022). Block by block: A blockchain-based peer-to-peer business transaction for international trade. Technological forecasting & social change, 180, 121714-121714, Article ID 121714.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Block by block: A blockchain-based peer-to-peer business transaction for international trade
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2022 (English)In: Technological forecasting & social change, ISSN 0040-1625, E-ISSN 1873-5509, Vol. 180, p. 121714-121714, article id 121714Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Heterogeneity and complicated processes, risk of information leakage, and higher costs are some of the challenges that stem from third-party involvement in business transactions. This study proposes a novel mechanism to address the shortcomings of third-party-dependent transactions in the context of international trade. Moreover, we provide business process modeling, deployed in a business transaction scenario, to furnish a deeper perspective on the working of the mechanism based on Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) 2.0 standards and guidelines. By analyzing and identifying blockchain roles and capabilities, this study proposes a blockchain technology-based letter of credit (BTLC), which is a mechanism providing letters of credit (LCs) that incorporate the benefits of blockchain and smart contracts.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2022
National Category
Probability Theory and Statistics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-58118 (URN)10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121714 (DOI)000821727900014 ()2-s2.0-85129038240 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2022-04-27 Created: 2022-04-27 Last updated: 2022-10-21Bibliographically approved
Chirumalla, K., Toorajipour, R., Dahlquist, E., Johansson, G. & Wallin, F. (2022). Configurations for second-life operations of electric vehicle batteries: A guiding framework for ecosystem management. In: : . Paper presented at 29th International EurOMA Conference, 1-6 July 2022, Berlin. Berlin: EurOMA
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Configurations for second-life operations of electric vehicle batteries: A guiding framework for ecosystem management
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2022 (English)Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Firms need multi-stakeholder ecosystems to create successful second-life business models for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. However, there is a lack of guiding instrumentsto support the process of strategizing and managing the EV battery ecosystem for secondlife operations. The purpose of this study is to propose a guiding framework that could support firms in the EV battery ecosystem to establish and manage various configurations for second-life operations. The study developed a framework with four configuration phases—namely, firm-level initiation, ecosystem construction, firm-level optimization, and ecosystem orchestration. Based on these phases, the paper describes three configuration pathways to establish and manage second-life operations

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Berlin: EurOMA, 2022
Keywords
EV battery ecosystem, Circular business models, Battery second life
National Category
Business Administration
Research subject
Innovation and Design
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-61436 (URN)
Conference
29th International EurOMA Conference, 1-6 July 2022, Berlin
Available from: 2023-01-05 Created: 2023-01-05 Last updated: 2023-01-10Bibliographically approved
Chirumalla, K., Reyes, L. G. & Toorajipour, R. (2022). Mapping a circular business opportunity in electric vehicle battery value chain: A multi-stakeholder framework to create a win–win–win situation. Journal of Business Research, 145, 569-582
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Mapping a circular business opportunity in electric vehicle battery value chain: A multi-stakeholder framework to create a win–win–win situation
2022 (English)In: Journal of Business Research, ISSN 0148-2963, E-ISSN 1873-7978, Vol. 145, p. 569-582Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Electric vehicle (EV) batteries provide new business opportunities through circularity, but identifying these opportunities requires multi-stakeholder collaboration considering the interests of stakeholders, the environment, and society. However, circular business model frameworks to support and guide firms in identifying and mapping multidirectional value in the early phases of designing new circular business models are lacking. Thus, this research proposes a framework that could support stakeholders in the EV battery value chain in identifying and mapping circular business opportunities and multidirectional value among stakeholders in order to generate a win–win–win situation in the value-creation process. The proposed framework for multi-stakeholder circular business model innovation consists of four phases—namely, initiation, ideation, testing, and implementation—subdivided into eight steps to address key challenges facing firms and encourage discussions on shared values and visions among all stakeholders in the early phases of designing the circular business model.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Inc., 2022
Keywords
Battery second life, Circular business model design, Circular business model innovation, Ecosystem collaboration, EV batteries, Sustainable business model
National Category
Business Administration
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-57710 (URN)10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.02.070 (DOI)000799198500004 ()2-s2.0-85126605707 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2022-03-30 Created: 2022-03-30 Last updated: 2022-11-25Bibliographically approved
Toorajipour, R., Chirumalla, K., Parida, V., Johansson, G., Dahlquist, E. & Wallin, F. (2022). Preconditions of Circular Business Model Innovation for the Electric Vehicle Battery Second Life: An Ecosystem Perspective. In: Advances in Transdisciplinary Engineering: . Paper presented at 10th Swedish Production Symposium, SPS 2022 (pp. 279-291). IOS Press BV
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Preconditions of Circular Business Model Innovation for the Electric Vehicle Battery Second Life: An Ecosystem Perspective
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2022 (English)In: Advances in Transdisciplinary Engineering, IOS Press BV , 2022, p. 279-291Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

There is a strong interconnection between transportation and sustainability. Therefore, electric vehicles (EVs) have received a great deal of attention, and their sales and market share have been growing rapidly. Soon, a huge amount of EV batteries will reach their end of life that need to be handled appropriately. The second life applications are suggested as a potential solution. However, to implement such applications, there is a need to shift towards new business models, which have a central focus on circularity. Therefore, this paper studies preconditions of circular business model innovation (CBMI) for the electric vehicle battery second life from the ecosystem perspective. It also identifies current (as is) and upcoming (to be) business models. Data has been collected from fourteen companies representing the electric vehicle battery second life (EVBSL) ecosystem. Results show three types of current and three types of upcoming business models in the EVBSL ecosystem. Further, four preconditions for CBMI were found, namely, 2nd life value proposition, 2nd life value network development, 2nd life-based revenue model, and digital technologies. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
IOS Press BV, 2022
Keywords
battery second life, circular business model innovation, ecosystem collaboration, EV battery
National Category
Economics and Business
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-59533 (URN)10.3233/ATDE220147 (DOI)2-s2.0-85132842569 (Scopus ID)9781614994398 (ISBN)
Conference
10th Swedish Production Symposium, SPS 2022
Available from: 2022-07-06 Created: 2022-07-06 Last updated: 2023-01-07Bibliographically approved
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