Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) said it is committed to reducing its overall carbon footprint by integrating a comprehensive circular economy approach across its operations by emphasizing repairing, remanufacturing, repurposing and recycling lithium-ion battery materials used in all DTNA EVs.
Leveraging advanced technology, DTNA said it can discern when a lithium-ion battery no longer meets its standards required for vehicle use. This insight guides the decision on the optimal process to maximize materials for a second life, with repair taking precedence whenever possible, the company said.
While batteries receive significant attention due to their use of rare-earth metals like cobalt and nickel, DTNA said its approach extends to all components of the EV product.
“As part of our commitment to maximizing material life cycles, we meticulously assess environmental and ethical implications from sourcing to post-production,” said Rakesh Aneja, vice president and chief of the zero-emission transformation group at DTNA. “Our primary goal is to repair our lithium-ion battery materials and reduce the consumption of new resources.”
DTNA said when a battery or electric vehicle component is beyond simple repair, it enters the remanufacturing process at existing Detroit Diesel Remanufacturing locations across the U.S. like the recently expanded Hibbing, MN facility with intended reuse in vehicles. This process involves partial disassembly, module replacement and rigorous testing for optimized reliability, according to the company. All remanufactured products are updated with the latest technology and must meet or exceed new product standards to be reintroduced to the market.
Remanufactured products are a cost-effective solution that improves the total cost of ownership, benefiting both DTNA’s customers and the environment, the company said. Today, the primary EV components for remanufacturing are Detroit batteries and eAxles, with the potential for further expansion in the future.
DTNA has partnered with Nuvation Energy to pilot a battery energy storage system (BESS) designed to assist in charging, peak shaving, backup storage and microgrid scenarios. The company said this solution enables it to repurpose batteries that cannot be reused in a vehicle.
DTNA said it also created a process in partnership with Li-Cycle, a lithium-ion battery resource recovery company, to responsibly recycle critical battery-grade materials for batteries that reach the end of their life cycle. According to Li-Cyle, it uses an environmentally friendly and safe method that recycles batteries within a liquid-based solution, achieving up to a 95% recovery rate for returning critical materials back to the battery supply chain while producing minimal water discharge.
Since 2006, DTNA said it has placed a high priority on establishing recycling solutions within its production facilities. Early initiatives, such as achieving ISO 14001 certification at every plant in the U.S. and Mexico by 2008 and zero-waste-to-landfill status at all plants by 2017, underscore its commitment to sustainable practices, DTNA said.
DTNA aims to achieve carbon neutrality for all new products and services from direct suppliers in Europe, the United States, and Japan by 2039. As early as 2020, the Portland Truck Manufacturing Plant, where the Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 are built, achieved CO₂-neutral production by reducing energy consumption and offsetting on-site emissions. DTNA said it further plans to achieve CO₂-neutral production at all its remaining truck manufacturing plants by 2025.
