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Batteries are the key elements for the massive electrification of the transport sector. With the rapidly growing popularity of electric vehicles, it is becoming increasingly important to characterize the behavior of battery packs through fast and accurate numerical models, in order to support experimental activities. A coupled electro-thermal simulation framework is required, as it is the only way to realistically represent the interactions between real world battery pack performances and the vehicle-level thermal management strategies. The purpose of this work is to pave the way for a comprehensive methodology for the development of a supporting modeling framework, to efficiently complement experiments in the optimal design and integration of battery packs.

Vehicle electrification is one of the most important emerging trends in the transportation sector and a necessary step towards the reduction of polluting substances and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, electric vehicles still present some environmental criticalities, such as indirect emissions related to the electricity used for charging the traction battery, which depends on the considered national electricity generation mix. The leading approach for quantifying the potential environmental impacts is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a standardized methodology that takes into account the whole life cycle of a product, including production, use phase, and end-of-life.

The second-life use of batteries from electric vehicles (EV) represents an excellent and cost-effective option for energy storage applications, including the control of fluctuations in energy supply and demand or in combination with solar photovoltaic and wind turbine. Indeed, these batteries are normally replaced from EV use before the end of their service life, when they still have 70-80% of the original capacity. Depending on the cell chemistry and the specific design, such batteries can still be employed in less stressful applications than the automotive one, including commercial, residential, and industrial applications. With the aim to promote the transition to a circular closed-loop economy for spent traction batteries, this study consists in a systematic literature review of available options for reusing EV batteries as a storage system in a factory environment, highlighting benefits and critical aspects.

In European Union (EU), transport causes about a quarter of the total greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and road vehicles are the biggest contributors, with nearly three-quarters of the overall GHG emissions. In this context, many governments are adopting different strategies to achieve a sustainable mobility, including the electrification of public transport, such as full electric taxis (e-taxis). Indeed, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) represent a promising solution towards the achievement of sustainability since they involve zero emissions during the use phase, despite indirect emissions are generated during the charging of the traction battery according to the specific national electricity mix. However, a proper choice of the vehicle segment for the e-taxi and its battery capacity can represent a crucial factor in reducing the overall environmental impacts.

Lithium ion batteries are the most promising candidates for electric and hybrid electric vehicles, owe to their ability to store higher electrical energy. As a matter of fact, in automotive applications, these batteries undergo frequent and fast charge and discharge processes, which are associated to internal heat generation, which in turns causes temperature increase. Thermal management is therefore crucial to keep temperature in an appropriate level for safe operation and battery wear prevention. In a recent work authors have already demonstrated the capabilities of a coupled lattice Boltzmann-Finite Volume Method to deal with thermal transient of a three-dimensional air-cooled Li-ion battery at different discharging rates and Reynolds numbers. Here, in order to improve discharge thermal capabilities and reduce temperature levels of the battery itself, a layer of porous medium is placed in contact with the battery so to replace a continuum solid aluminum layer.

The Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCA) methodology is today considered as a crucial paradigm with multiple levels of analysis, including the economic, social and environmental aspects. In this scenario, the purpose of the present research is to carry out an accurate and extensive LCA based analysis to compare the environmental impact, between conventional gasoline and hybrid vehicle powertrains. Two different powertrain scenarios were considered maintaining the same vehicle chassis. The performed analysis concerned resources and energy consumption as well as pollutant emission of each process, evaluating the impact of powertrain production, the vehicle use phase, and powertrain end of life scenarios. A large set of indicators - including human toxicity, eutrophication, and acidification - was considered. The study indicates that the potential of electrified vehicles basically depends on efficient production and recycling of the battery.

Due to their ability to store higher electrical energy, lithium ion batteries are the most promising candidates for electric and hybrid electric vehicles, whose market share is growing fast. Heat generation during charge and discharge processes, frequently undergone by these batteries, causes temperature increase and thermal management is indispensable to keep temperature in an appropriate level. In this paper, a coupled Lattice Boltzmann-Finite Volume model for the three-dimensional transient thermal analysis of an air-cooled Li-ion battery module is presented. As it has already been successfully used to deal with several fluid-dynamics problems, the Lattice Boltzmann method is selected for its simpler boundary condition implementation and complete parallel computing, which make this approach promising for such applications.