Bridging Tools to Better Understand Environmental Performances and Raw Materials Supply of Traction Batteries in the Future EU Fleet

Abstract

Sustainable and smart mobility and associated energy systems are key to decarbonise the EU and develop a clean, resource efficient, circular and carbon-neutral future. To achieve the 2030 and 2050 targets, technological and societal changes are needed. This transition will inevitably change the composition of the future EU fleet, with an increasing share of electric vehicles (xEVs). To assess the potential contribution of lithium-ion traction batteries (LIBs) in decreasing the environmental burdens of EU mobility, several aspects should be included. Even though environmental assessments of batteries along their life-cycle have been already conducted using life-cycle assessment, a single tool does not likely provide a complete overview of such a complex system. Complementary information is provided by material flow analysis and criticality assessment, with emphasis on supply risk. Bridging complementary aspects can better support decision-making, especially when different strategies are simultaneously tackled. The results point out that the future life-cycle GWP of traction LIBs will likely improve, mainly due to more environmental-friendly energy mix and improved recycling. Even though second-use will postpone available materials for recycling, both these end-of-life strategies allow keeping the values of materials in the circular economy, with recycling also contributing to mitigate the supply risk of Lithium and Nickel.

Complex Concentrated Alloys for Substitution of Critical Raw Materials in Applications for Extreme Conditions

“…A selection of critical and non-critical raw materials used in these technologies are shown in Figure 1 . The analysis bottlenecks for each technology can result in a very low supply risk and very high supply risk, based on market research reports and publicly available information ( Figure 2 ) [ 9 ].…”

“…Aerospace is one of the strategically important fields in which almost all technological developments are included due to its complexity of systems and materials used [ 9 , 11 ]. For example, robots play an increasing role in the future of manufacturing, in which emerging technologies such as automated metal processing routs, automated assembling, and testing conveyors gain more trust and interest.…”

“…The criticality of PGMs is mainly influenced by the projected development of fuel cell production, especially for the automotive industry, where these metals provide the most efficient catalysts. Recent developments showed partial substitution (up to 20% Pt) with Co and other metals with a compromised decrease in functionality [ 9 ].…”

Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Using Critical Raw Materials: A Review

“…A third CRMs list with 26 raw materials and groups of raw materials out of the 78 candidates was released in 2017 [ 6 ]. The last CRMs list was released in 2020 and contained 30 elements [ 7 ]. Bauxite, lithium, titanium, and strontium were added to the CRMs list for the first time, while helium, critical in 2017, was removed from the list due to a decline in its economic importance.…”

Influence of Tool Geometry and Process Parameters on the Properties of Friction Stir Spot Welded Multiple (AA 5754 H111) Aluminium Sheets

“…Finally, the additional drawback of the RSW joining process is that the electrodes are based on copper and contain various alloying elements. Typical alloying elements are tungsten, cobalt, beryllium and silicon metal, which are critical raw materials (CRMs), while chromium, zirconium and molybdenum are near critical elements [ 16 ]. The degradation and consumption of these electrodes, especially for aluminium welding due to the high contact resistance induced by the presence of resistant aluminium oxide layer on the surface of Al alloys is very high [ 17 ].…”