Key issues of lithium-ion batteries – from resource depletion to environmental performance indicators

Oliveira, Luís Miguel Da Quinta E Costa Neves De; Messagie, Maarten; Rangaraju, Surendraprabu; Sanfélix, Javier; Rivas, Maria Hernandez; Mierlo, Joeri Van

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.06.021

Cited by 155 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The high contribution of these materials is a result of the particular Swiss focus of the methodology; gravel and rock availability are limited due to land-use-change restrictions and thus the exploitable reserves are very small compared to the actually existing ones. Fluorspar is required as a precursor for hydrogen fluoride production, which itself is a precursor for LiPF 6 and therefore driven by the electrolyte, while gravel is used for calcium carbonate production and for infrastructure. Apart from that, cobalt plays a very important role, more than in other methodologies, but so do nickel, tantalum and indium, followed by copper, cadmium, lithium, molybdenum and tin.…”

Section: Applicability Of Methodologies For Battery Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The increasing demand for batteries goes along with an increasing demand in materials, especially metals, required for their production [3][4][5]. Thus, doubts have repeatedly been expressed questioning the sustainability of electric mobility and stationary storage systems based on lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the required resources [6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, the availability of lithium may be less problematic than expected. Several studies have already been released on this issue and come to very different conclusions [3,6,7,11,12]. The majority of these studies rely on life cycle assessment and material flow analysis for assessing the resource depletion potentials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Critical Assessment of the Resource Depletion Potential of Current and Future Lithium-Ion Batteries

Peters

Weil

2016

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Abstract:Resource depletion aspects are repeatedly used as an argument for a shift towards new battery technologies. However, whether serious shortages due to the increased demand for traction and stationary batteries can actually be expected is subject to an ongoing discussion. In order to identify the principal drivers of resource depletion for battery production, we assess different lithium-ion battery types and a new lithium-free battery technology (sodium-ion) under this aspect, applying different assessment methodologies. The findings show that very different results are obtained with existing impact assessment methodologies, which hinders clear interpretation. While cobalt, nickel and copper can generally be considered as critical metals, the magnitude of their depletion impacts in comparison with that of other battery materials like lithium, aluminum or manganese differs substantially. A high importance is also found for indirect resource depletion effects caused by the co-extraction of metals from mixed ores. Remarkably, the resource depletion potential per kg of produced battery is driven only partially by the electrode materials and thus depends comparably little on the battery chemistry itself. One of the key drivers for resource depletion seems to be the metals (and co-products) in electronic parts required for the battery management system, a component rather independent from the actual battery chemistry. However, when assessing the batteries on a capacity basis (per kWh storage capacity), a high-energy density also turns out to be relevant, since it reduces the mass of battery required for providing one kWh, and thus the associated resource depletion impacts.

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Section: Applicability Of Methodologies For Battery Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Critical Assessment of the Resource Depletion Potential of Current and Future Lithium-Ion Batteries

Peters

Weil

2016

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“…No emissions occurring during the extraction or trans-oceanic shipping are included. The life cycle aspect of the plants (namely construction and decommissioning is not taken into account [81,82]. The tank-to-wheel emissions of electrical vehicles account only for the non-exhaust fraction.…”

Section: Well-to-tank Emissionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Analysis of Petrol, Diesel and Electric Passenger Cars in a Belgian Urban Setting

et al. 2016

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Abstract:The combustion of fossil fuels in the transport sector leads to an aggravation of the air quality along city roads and highways. Urban air quality is a serious problem nowadays as the number of vehicles increases on a yearly basis. With stricter Euro emission regulations, vehicle manufacturers are not meeting the imposed limits and are also disregarding the non-exhaust emissions. This paper highlights the relevance of non-exhaust emissions of passenger vehicles, both conventional (diesel and petrol) or electric vehicles (EV), on air quality levels in an urban environment in Belgium. An environmental life cycle assessment was carried out based on a real-world emission model for passenger cars and fuel refinery data. A cut-off was applied to the models to highlight what emissions, both from the refinery to the exhaust and electricity production for EV, do actually occur within Belgium's borders. Results show that not much progress has been made from Euro 4 to 6 for conventional vehicles. Electric vehicles pose the best alternative solution as a more environmentally friendly means of transportation. The analysis results target policy makers with the intention that regulations and policies would be developed in the future and target the characterization of non-exhaust emissions from vehicles. These results indicate that EVs offer a valid solution for addressing the urban air quality issue and that non-exhaust emissions should be addressed in future regulatory steps as they dominate the impact spectrum.

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“…Throughout the last decades, the emission of greenhouse gases have increased dramatically; however, their negative impact on the climate has been demonstrated [1,2]. To limit these adversary effects of climate change, several actions are undertaken on a worldwide scale, for example it has been agreed at COP21 in Paris to keep the temperature rise limited to maximum 2 • C [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cost Projection of State of the Art Lithium-Ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles Up to 2030

et al. 2017

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Abstract:The negative impact of the automotive industry on climate change can be tackled by changing from fossil driven vehicles towards battery electric vehicles with no tailpipe emissions. However their adoption mainly depends on the willingness to pay for the extra cost of the traction battery. The goal of this paper is to predict the cost of a battery pack in 2030 when considering two aspects: firstly a decade of research will ensure an improvement in material sciences altering a battery's chemical composition. Secondly by considering the price erosion due to the production cost optimization, by maturing of the market and by evolving towards to a mass-manufacturing situation. The cost of a lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC) battery (Cathode: NMC 6:2:2 ; Anode: graphite) as well as silicon based lithium-ion battery (Cathode: NMC 6:2:2 ; Anode: silicon alloy), expected to be on the market in 10 years, will be predicted to tackle the first aspect. The second aspect will be considered by combining process-based cost calculations with learning curves, which takes the increasing battery market into account. The 100 dollar/kWh sales barrier will be reached respectively between 2020-2025 for silicon based lithium-ion batteries and 2025-2030 for NMC batteries, which will give a boost to global electric vehicle adoption.

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Key issues of lithium-ion batteries – from resource depletion to environmental performance indicators

Cited by 155 publications

References 21 publications

A Critical Assessment of the Resource Depletion Potential of Current and Future Lithium-Ion Batteries

A Critical Assessment of the Resource Depletion Potential of Current and Future Lithium-Ion Batteries

Environmental Analysis of Petrol, Diesel and Electric Passenger Cars in a Belgian Urban Setting

Cost Projection of State of the Art Lithium-Ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles Up to 2030

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