2021 was the year of the electric vehicle.
I predict, 2022 is the year of circular design.
This is a big deal.
While this is a huge leap in battery innovation, were not entirely there yet.
The company aims to produce cells with 50% recycled material by 2030 thats a long way off.
All in all, this is circular design in action.
So whats circular design?
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
Are you yawning already?
But its critical toa circular economy.
Weve all seen the problems of e-waste Im not the only tech journalist with a graveyard of gear obsolescence.
A company goes bust or is acquired.
It stops supporting older devices or updating the devices software.
A security problem forces the machine out of operation.
A lack ofright to repairchokes us.
Or technology standards evolve faster than the IoT rig.
What if this didnt have to happen?
This is circular design.
While battery innovation extends the range, theres loads of use for the batteries beyond the car.
While abatterys first lifelasts for between 10-15 years, it still has a capacity of at least 75%.
Thus, manufacturers can repurpose for up to another 10 years in applications such as stationary energy storage.
In France, Connected Energy use batteries formerly used to powerRenault Kangoo ZE vehiclesfor industrial applications.
They have a combined energy storage capacity of 720 kilowatt-hours and can deliver 1.2 megawatt-hours in power.
SKODA has createda smart energy storage systemfor dealerships that stores sustainably generated electricity in used batteries.
This facilitates predictive maintenance, informing rail staff of the batterys status before its voltage becomes too low.
Circular design is also about creating new business models
Circular design can also extend to ebikes.
In the pay for use business model, the manufacturer handles the value of a product throughout its lifecycle.
The model provides an incentive to design products optimized for durability, ease of maintenance, and repair.
The problem has never actually gone away.
!RT to MAKE A CHANGE!
!Hey @JUMPbyUber, why is this happening?
TEN semi loads of good bikes?trashed!?
Lets collaborate on a non-profit to repaint & repurpose these.
Give kids transportation to their first jobs??
@Caseywant to help?
The bikes had their batteries and electronic components removed.
But for direct-to-consumer sales, its also about community.
Circular design is not just about saving the environment.
It makes good business sense.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
