Sustainability of lithium-ion battery recycling industry in China: An explorative analysis via an innovative dynamic business modeling for sustainability

The rapid accumulation of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), driven by the large-scale deployment of electric vehicles, has rendered the construction of an efficient recycling system a critical challenge for the circular economy. Addressing this global issue, sustainable business models (SBMs) are increasingly recognized as a vital pathway for enterprises to achieve long-term value creation, attracting widespread attention. This paper proposes a quantifiable dynamic sustainable business model (DSBM) as a novel approach for forecasting sustainable benefits within China’s LIBs industry, which was constructed by incorporating dynamic feedback mechanisms of economic, social, and environmental value creation into a comprehensive framework for both qualitative and quantitative assessment, so as to overcome the limitations of static traditional business models (BMs). From the life cycle perspective, three typical BMs exist, namely: repurposing, resourcelization, and closed-loop recycling. Next, this DSBM was employed to evaluate the multi-dimensional sustainable benefits of these BMs and explore the necessity of implementing SBMs. As the findings indicate, the greatest advantage of repurposing BM is to effectively extend the life cycle of LIBs recycling industry and create higher potential for sustainable value; while supply chain disruption risks are significantly mitigated in the resourcelization BM. On the other hand, the closed-loop BM shows the greatest overall sustainable performance by reducing production costs and lifecycle carbon emissions, and the tapered subsidy and mandatory closed-loop policies can effectively drive the circular economy in LIBs recycling. The DSBM approach provides a more robust means to effectively quantify sustainable benefits, thereby supporting future research and practical implementation of SBMs.