Integrating Line Balancing with Network Topology to Support the Planning of a Remanufacturing System for Electric Vehicles

Many of the materials needed for the production of electric vehicles (EVs), in particular batteries and motors, are subject to substantial supply chain uncertainty. A circular economy approach that recovers these materials/components from end-of-life (EoL) vehicles would reduce the dependence on primary (virgin) materials/components. However, there is a lack of EoL infrastructure that can process the whole EV in a holistic manner. To address this pressing issue, this paper discusses a potential EV Renewal System (EVRS) that aims to directly rebuild used EVs and recover maximum value from EoL components and materials. The EVRS is investigated through a network model, and based on network topology analysis, proxy variables are defined to characterize system complexity. Furthermore, a line balancing algorithm is designed to divide the system into workstations, with the goal of streamlining the system workflow under unpredictable EoL EV conditions. This study proposes a framework, that synthesizes the results from network topology and line balancing, for evaluating the process design of remanufacturing systems, which is adaptable to a diverse range of industries and that can galvanize more remanufacturing practices.