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Project title

BAtteries: barriers and enablerS To IreLand's circuLar Economy

Primary Funding Agency

Environmental Protection Agency

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

University of Dublin, Trinity College (TCD)

Lead Applicant

Paul Liston

Project Abstract

BASTILLE aims to produce research outputs to inform policy in Ireland to accelerate our transition to a Circular Economy. BASTILLE will engage stakeholders, learn from other jurisdictions, identify barriers and enablers and bring all this knowledge to bear on the issue of batteries to help Ireland meet goals for EV usage and accelerate the country’s transition to a Circular Economy. The project will investigate the barriers and enablers from all stakeholder perspectives and produce an evidence-based implementation roadmap and policy white paper to guide this transition. Through the use of use cases based on battery grade graphite and its use in batteries BASTILLE will analyse the batteries case in more depth and provide deeper understanding of all aspects, technical and non-technical, related to increasing circularity for battery grade graphite from natural origins, as well as synthetically produced. From a technological perspective, BASTILLE will explore the conditions that would establish innovative processing in order to expand European’s participation in the production chain of graphite, one of the most requested materials for batteries in Electric Vehicles (EVs), large storage systems and hydrogen-based energy production. There is a lack of analysis showing full the end of life (EoL) destinations of products containing natural graphite. BASTILLE will fill this gap and produce knowledge that will examine the circularity potential of natural graphite in Ireland. In so doing BASTILLE will be able to estimate the saved carbon emissions and determine the impact on Ireland’s circularity rate. From a sociotechnical perspective BASTILLE will engage with key stakeholders in barrier and enabler identification activities using surveys, workshops and interviews. These research activities will produce knowledge on what helps or hinders energy efficiency behaviour and circular economy initiatives for all stakeholders, taking their individual perspectives on board. In particular Societal Readiness Levels (SRLs) will be investigated for stakeholder regarding the use of battery grade graphite. This information will inform the specification of an Implementation Roadmap and a Policy White Paper to guide the successful embedding of the BASTILLE knowledge in both policy and practice – overcoming and mitigating all the barriers identified, and ensuring that the enablers are deployed and ameliorated. This co-design process builds on learning from other countries with more progressive circular economy policies already in place and builds upon all relevant perspectives and plans such as the OECD Urban Study on the Circular Economy in Ireland, the European Commission’s Green Deal Industrial Plan and proposals on Critical Raw Materials, and the 2022 Environmental Impact Review for Ireland.

Grant Approved

�449,953.00

Research Hub

Green and Circular Economy

Research Theme

n/a

Start Date

01/03/2024

Initial Projected Completion Date

28/02/2027