Exploring the Effect of Increased Energy Density on the Environmental Impacts of Traction Batteries: A Comparison of Energy Optimized Lithium-Ion and Lithium-Sulfur Batteries for Mobility Applications

Abstract

Abstract:The quest towards increasing the energy density of traction battery technologies has led to the emergence and diversification of battery materials. The lithium sulfur battery (LSB) is in this regard a promising material for batteries due to its specific energy. However, due to its low volumetric energy density, the LSB faces challenges in mobility applications such as electric vehicles but also other transportation modes. To understand the potential environmental implication of LSB batteries, a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed. For this study, electrodes for both an NMC111 with an anode graphite and a LSB battery cell with a lithium metal foil as anode were manufactured. Data from disassembly experiments performed on a real battery system for a mid-size passenger vehicle were used to build the required life cycle inventory. The energy consumption during the use phase was calculated using a simulative approach. A set of thirteen impact categories was evaluated and characterized with the ReCiPe methodology. The results of the LCA in this study allow identification of the main sources of environmental problems as well as possible strategies to improve the environmental impact of LSB batteries. In this regard, the high requirements of N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) for the processing of the sulfur cathode and the thickness of the lithium foil were identified as the most important drivers. We make recommendations for necessary further research in order to broaden the understanding concerning the potential environmental implication of the implementation of LSB batteries for mobility applications.

Revisiting the Role of Conductivity and Polarity of Host Materials for Long‐Life Lithium–Sulfur Battery

“…Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) are one of the most highly pursued next‐generation energy storage devices due to their much higher energy density (2600 Wh kg −1 , or 2800 Wh L −1 ) than that of current state‐of‐the‐art lithium ion batteries (LIBs) (387 Wh kg −1 , or 1015 Wh L −1 ) and much lower cost. [ 1–6 ] Furthermore, sulfur exhibits diverse benefits of high natural abundance, nontoxicity, and a stable operating voltage of ≈2.1 V. [ 7–9 ] Despite their remarkable advantages, the LSBs suffer from series of obstructions. The main issues of LSBs are related to poor cycle and rate performance associated with the loss of active sulfur due to continuous diffusion of highly soluble lithium polysulfides (Li 2 S x , 4 ≤ x ≤ 8) into the electrolyte solution and their parasitic reaction with the Li anode, and an expansion in sulfur volume (≈80%) upon lithiation.…”

Design of Fuel Cell Systems for Aviation: Representative Mission Profiles and Sensitivity Analyses

“…The obtained system designs are analyzed statistically in Figures 5, 6. For these figures, the most interesting set of performance parameters was selected: for the fuel cell, a specific power of 1.6 kW/kg, corresponding to current automotive fuel cell systems (Yoshida and Kojima, 2015;Kadyk et al, 2018), and for the battery, a specific energy of 0.8 kWh/kg, achievable in the future with lithium sulfur battery systems (Zhang et al, 2017;Cerdas et al, 2018). An analysis of the full parameter space of future energy technologies will be discussed in the next section.…”

“…The latter has the advantage of a considerably reduced size of the fuel cell, i.e., the fuel cell size can be reduced by 70% while the battery shaves off the high power peak demands. The specific energies of the batteries required for this can be achieved in two ways: either with better battery technologies like lithium-sulfur or lithium-air batteries (Zhang et al, 2017;Cerdas et al, 2018) or by integrating batteries into the structure of the aircraft, e.g., the laminates of the skin (Adam et al, 2018). Corresponding to the degree of hybridization, the overall mass of the energy system shown in Figure 7B splits into a distribution with two peaks for specific battery energies above 0.8 kWh/kg.…”

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Typical Cathode Materials of Lithium-Ion Battery Based on Three LCA Approaches

“…However, long-standing effort has been devoted to the development of high energy density and capability cathode materials [3], meeting the demand of electric vehicles, power tools, and large electric power storage units [4]. In fact, with the increase in energy density and capacity, many trace LIBs have an increasing impact on the environment [5]. Meanwhile, modern society must overcome many difficulties, such as obtaining natural resources and protecting the natural environment [4].…”