Abstract:

It is found that： （1） with introducing BT technology， both the supplier and third-party remanufacturer have improved their profits. However， whether the manufacturer benefit depends on BT technology’s impact on promoting demand and consumers’ trust in BT； （2） a higher traceability level can promote the circulation of the whole NEV closed-loop supply chain and the saving of social resources， so as to achieve the purpose of promoting circular economy； and （3） if the investment cost of BT technology is controllable and the effect of BT technology （consumption/recycling preference） is significant， the essential impact of BT technology on the closed-loop supply chain of NEVs is positive.Research Question Sources　The rapid growth in new energy vehicle （NEV） sales has been reflected in the expanding demand and scaling up of battery production， which reached 160 GWh in 2020. In reality， the average service life of the battery for electric cars is 5-8 years， and safety measures hold that the battery must be replaced before a 20-30% degradation occurs from its original capacity. The increased demand for battery power not only places increasing pressure on manufacturers to recycle retired batteries， it also poses a severe threat to the environment， owing to toxic electrolytes and chemicals. Firms are also seeking to recycle used batteries where possible. Most manufacturers choose to cooperate with third-party recyclers （3PRs） to recycle their used batteries so that they can focus on their core business. For example， NEV manufacturers such as Nissan and Volkswagen ask their consumers to return retired batteries to authorized third-party collection centers. Although cooperating with 3PRs can improve the efficiency of recycling electric vehicle batteries， there remains some technological limitations in the reverse supply chain of these batteries， such as the traceability of the energy consumption and the verification of the recyclability of the batteries. These limitations， however， may potentially be overcome by the use of Blockchain traceability （BT） technology. With China’s commitment to “carbon peak and carbon neutrality”， new problems of power battery upgrading or scrapping emerge. How to effectively track the energy consumption of power batteries and the performance of battery materials， verify the recyclability of batteries and ensure compliance？ It is not only a technical problem at present， but also an inevitable environmental problem in the future. Based on the above scenario， Stackelberg game models are employed to study the motivation and influence mechanism of key factors for NEV manufacturers or power battery suppliers to adopt BT technology to track the use of power batteries.

Key words: new energy vehicle, recycling of power battery, Blockchain traceability technology, closed-loop supply chain, game theory