Can Chinese Electric Vehicles Meet EU Batteries Regulation Targets? A Dynamic Approach to Assess the Potential for Recycled Materials Use in Chinese EV Batteries

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

OVERALL COMMENTARIES

 

Thank you for reading the manuscript “Can Chinese electric vehicles meet EU Batteries Regulation targets? A dynamic approach to assess the potential for recycled materials use in Chinese EV batteries” (wevj-3675638). Overall, the manuscript is well developed and is in an advanced stage of development. I have found some minor points that I believe authors should consider and take an action to improve the quality of the manuscript for publication.

 

TITLE AND ABSTRACT

In my view, the title is inviting and provides information from the study. The abstract is well-presented and informative.

 

INTRODUCTION

The third paragraph of introduction is quite big. I suggest breaking it. The introduction is quite descriptive. To better engage informed readers and clearly establish the research gap, the authors should provide a more concise overview of the problem. I recommend a more concise presentation that focuses on the problems related to recycling electric vehicle (EV) batteries and the study's specific aims. This will help to clearly define the gap in the current research that this study addresses.

 

Line (121-125) Merge this paragraph and reinforce the “Therefore is a lack of analysis focusing …”. Improve this part before present the objective.

Following the objective, please begin a new paragraph detailing the study's contribution. This should address how the study advances previous research and contributes to the broader field. Furthermore, it should explain how the study improves the theoretical and empirical literature on battery recycling and highlight its novelty. The contribution to policy makers, government, recycling companies, and the recovery of those EV batteries should also be discussed, along with the importance of this work for sustainability. As a recommendation, the authors could mention a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) contribution (Akram & Abdul-Kader, 2023). How the author’s research is different and complement prior studies such as Seka and Kubli (2024)?

 

LITERATURE REVIEW

 

The study lacks of theoretical section, which in my view is important for this research. Considering that the direction of the study is in the area, the authors can incorporate more related studies in such direction to expand the literature content. I still suggest to add more recent published work in 2023 in a flow to better highlight the research gap in the existing studies. This analysis should thoroughly explain the relevant theories within the context of battery recycling and existing EV studies. Include a subtopic for a discussion of the main policy changes related to EVs in both the EU and China. At the end of this section, the authors should present the current 2,1 framework. 'The framework of China's EV recycling' should be a key focus, positioning China as a leader in the analysis. Use Figure 2 to visually enhance the end of this theoretical section before presenting the methods.

 

METHOD

 

The method is credible. However, in your section “2. Methods and data” I recommend to start with data description followed by estimating procedure like the standard practice of the profession. Provide a more detailed explanation of the rationale for investigating China, specifically highlighting the country's importance. Include a discussion of relevant laws and key legislative acts, and changes. Detail the selected data sources and databases, providing a more comprehensive explanation of their source. Subsequently, present the methodology, including the procedures and equations used in the analysis (subsection 2.1)

 

BASELINE ANALYSIS AND SENSITIVE ANALYSIS

This section is well-developed and requires minimal revisions. The result of the study should be further discussed by providing the justification for the observations as well the comparison of the result with other related literature. Use the related incorporations to expand the discussion of the result. Support the results with references and further expend the discussion and the reason of obtaining specific results

I suggest that the authors strengthen the descriptive analysis by incorporating additional support from relevant studies to reinforce their discussion. By providing more critical insights, the authors have the opportunity to elevate this section, thereby advancing not only the field of EV battery recycling but also policy development related to battery reuse and recycling options in China.

 

CONCLUSION

Conclusion is too large. Conclusion should be direct from your results. The author must reduce the size of conclusion, providing only the main results. Please, provide a policy and future research recommendation based on limitations in your research

 

Overall, the manuscript is well-developed, but the authors should consider the recommendations provided. I hope that my comments will help you refine your research. At the end you have some suggestion of studies. They are not mandatory but could be mentioned to increase quality and give some directions!

 

References

 

Akram, M. N., & Abdul-Kader, W. (2023). Sustainable Development Goals and End-of-Life Electric Vehicle Battery: Literature Review. Batteries, 9(7), 353.

Seika, J., & Kubli, M. (2024). Repurpose or recycle? Simulating end-of-life scenarios for electric Vehicle batteries under the EU battery regulation. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 51, 644–656.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer:

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the detailed responses in the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors analyzed China's potential to comply with the EU Batteries Regulation (2023/1542), which mandates minimum recycled material content in EV batteries exported to the EU. They developed a forward-looking analysis assessing the future availability of recycled materials, showing that while most targets are achievable, recycled lithium content remains a challenge, with battery lifespan and collection rate being key risk factors. The topic is timely; however, there are some issues that need to be addressed in the paper. Please take into account my following comments:
- What is the Gompertz model? In which fields is it commonly used? The authors should provide an explanation.
- Why were deep learning methods not used for the forecasts? What is the accuracy of the forecasting methods used?
- In such a study, the authors should address the topic of second-life batteries and also provide information about their general areas of application. In this regard, please include the following article on second-life batteries in the literature review section: https://doi.org/10.3390/app142110032

Author Response

Dear Reviewer:

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the detailed responses in the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors present a sophisticated study of an issue that is and in the next decades will be of significant importance for the Chinese EV industry. The implemented methodology is well-chosen and suitable.

Thus, there are only two minor issues to mention and two proposals to enhance the concluding insights of the study.

- Line 73: 40wt% the "wt" seems to be a typo.

- At some points the term "researches" is used which sounds like a bad translation and terms like "study/article/paper" might suit better.

- All sensitivity analyses are ceteris paribus. The construction of an overall worst and best case scenario might be illustrative as well. In the conclusions policy options can be discussed of how to avoid the worst case and realize the best case scenario.

- The article might profit from an additional sub-section in the conclusions discussing limitations to the study.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer:

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript. Please find the detailed responses in the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx