Life Cycle Analysis of Lithium-Ion Batteries for Automotive Applications
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the cradle-to-gate total energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, SOx, NOx, PM10 emissions, and water consumption associated with current industrial production of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) batteries, with the battery life cycle analysis (LCA) module in the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model.
Abstract: In light of the increasing penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) in the global vehicle market, understanding the environmental impacts of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) that characterize the EVs is key to sustainable EV deployment. This study analyzes the cradle-to-gate total energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, SOx, NOx, PM10 emissions, and water consumption associated with current industrial production of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) batteries, with the battery life cycle analysis (LCA) module in the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model, which was recently updated with primary data collected from large-scale commercial battery material producers and automotive LIB manufacturers. The results show that active cathode material, aluminum, and energy use for cell production are the major contributors to the energy and environmental impacts of NMC batteries. However, this study also notes that the impacts could change significantly, depending on where in the world the battery is produced, and where the materials are sourced. In an effort to harmonize existing LCAs of automotive LIBs and guide future research, this study also lays out differences in life cycle inventories (LCIs) for key battery materials among existing LIB LCA studies, and identifies knowledge gaps.
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TL;DR: In this paper, a critical review investigates the issues of lithium ion battery recycling and discusses the aspects of pack, module and cell design that can simplify battery dismantling and recycling, highlighting not only Green aspects of elemental recovery, but also technoeconomic features which may govern the appropriate direction for recycling.
140 citations
TL;DR: An extensive literature review is conducted of the relevant parameters and costs of battery electric vehicles and AVs, divided into the categories of vehicle, infrastructure, mobility, and energy.
Abstract: The launch of both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and autonomous vehicles (AVs) on the global market has triggered ongoing radical changes in the automotive sector. On the one hand, the new characteristics of the BEV powertrain compared to the combustion type have resulted in new central parameters, such as vehicle range, which then become an important selling point. On the other hand, electric components are as yet not optimized and the sensors needed for autonomous driving are still expensive, which introduces changes to the vehicle cost structure. This transformation is not limited to the vehicle itself but also extends to its mobility and the necessary infrastructure. The former is shaped by new user behaviors and scenarios. The latter is impacted by the BEV powertrain, which requires a charging and energy supply infrastructure. To enable manufacturers and researchers to develop and optimize BEVs and AVs, it is necessary to first identify the relevant parameters and costs. To this end, we have conducted an extensive literature review. The result is a complete overview of the relevant parameters and costs, divided into the categories of vehicle, infrastructure, mobility, and energy.
112 citations
Cites background from "Life Cycle Analysis of Lithium-Ion ..."
...who estimated that the greenhouse gas emissions for one automotive battery cell manufacturer are 73 kgCO2e/kWh [43]....
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TL;DR: In this article, a Monte Carlo-based global sensitivity analysis is performed to determine the input parameters that contribute most to overall variability of results for all vehicle configurations with different powertrain configurations.
103 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated and quantified the life cycle environmental impacts of lithium-ion power batteries (LIBs) for passenger electric vehicles to identify key stages that contribute to the overall environmental burden and to find ways to reduce this burden effectively.
97 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a critical review of the power battery supply chain, industrial development, waste treatment strategies and recycling, etc is presented, aiming at different methods to treat spent power batteries and their associated metals.
81 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the state-of-the-art advances in active materials, electrolytes and cell chemistries for automotive batteries are surveyed, along with an assessment of the potential to fulfil the ambitious targets of electric vehicle propulsion.
Abstract: It is widely accepted that for electric vehicles to be accepted by consumers and to achieve wide market penetration, ranges of at least 500 km at an affordable cost are required. Therefore, significant improvements to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in terms of energy density and cost along the battery value chain are required, while other key performance indicators, such as lifetime, safety, fast-charging ability and low-temperature performance, need to be enhanced or at least sustained. Here, we review advances and challenges in LIB materials for automotive applications, in particular with respect to cost and performance parameters. The production processes of anode and cathode materials are discussed, focusing on material abundance and cost. Advantages and challenges of different types of electrolyte for automotive batteries are examined. Finally, energy densities and costs of promising battery chemistries are critically evaluated along with an assessment of the potential to fulfil the ambitious targets of electric vehicle propulsion. Electrification is seen as the future of automotive industry, and deployment of electric vehicles largely depends on the development of rechargeable batteries. Here, the authors survey the state-of-the-art advances in active materials, electrolytes and cell chemistries for automotive batteries.
1,826 citations
"Life Cycle Analysis of Lithium-Ion ..." refers background in this paper
...In both cases, the materials and energy requirements for particle refinement, the final step to producing battery-grade graphite [38], are not accounted for....
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TL;DR: This year, the battery industry celebrated the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the lithium ion rechargeable battery by Sony as discussed by the authors, which used a combination of lower temperature carbons for the negative electrode to prevent solvent degradation and lithium cobalt dioxide modified somewhat from Goodenough's earlier work.
Abstract: This year, the battery industry celebrates the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the lithium ion rechargeable battery by Sony Corporation. The discovery of the system dates back to earlier work by Asahi Kasei in Japan, which used a combination of lower temperature carbons for the negative electrode to prevent solvent degradation and lithium cobalt dioxide modified somewhat from Goodenough’s earlier work. The development by Sony was carried out within a few years by bringing together technology in film coating from their magnetic tape division and electrochemical technology from their battery division. The past 25 years has shown rapid growth in the sales and in the benefits of lithium ion in comparison to all the earlier rechargeable battery systems. Recent work on new materials shows that there is a good likelihood that the lithium ion battery will continue to improve in cost, energy, safety and power capability and will be a formidable competitor for some years to come. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse of the work in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. [DOI: 10.1149/2.0251701jes] All rights reserved.
1,282 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed and provided a transparent life cycle inventory of conventional and electric vehicles and applied their inventory to assess conventional and EVs over a range of impact categories, including human toxicity, freshwater eco-toxicity, freshwater eutrophication, and metal depletion impacts, largely emanating from the vehicle supply chain.
Abstract: Summary Electric vehicles (EVs) coupled with low-carbon electricity sources offer the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and exposure to tailpipe emissions from personal transportation. In considering these benefits, it is important to address concerns of problemshifting. In addition, while many studies have focused on the use phase in comparing transportation options, vehicle production is also significant when comparing conventional and EVs. We develop and provide a transparent life cycle inventory of conventional and electric vehicles and apply our inventory to assess conventional and EVs over a range of impact categories. We find that EVs powered by the present European electricity mix offer a 10% to 24% decrease in global warming potential (GWP) relative to conventional diesel or gasoline vehicles assuming lifetimes of 150,000 km. However, EVs exhibit the potential for significant increases in human toxicity, freshwater eco-toxicity, freshwater eutrophication, and metal depletion impacts, largely emanating from the vehicle supply chain. Results are sensitive to assumptions regarding electricity source, use phase energy consumption, vehicle lifetime, and battery replacement schedules. Because production impacts are more significant for EVs than conventional vehicles, assuming a vehicle lifetime of 200,000 km exaggerates the GWP benefits of EVs to 27% to 29% relative to gasoline vehicles or 17% to 20% relative to diesel. An assumption of 100,000 km decreases the benefit of EVs to 9% to 14% with respect to gasoline vehicles and results in impacts indistinguishable from those of a diesel vehicle. Improving the environmental profile of EVs requires engagement around reducing vehicle production supply chain impacts and promoting clean electricity sources in decision making regarding electricity infrastructure.
1,168 citations
TL;DR: The study shows that the environmental burdens of mobility are dominated by the operation phase regardless of whether a gasoline-fueled ICEV or a European electricity fueled BEV is used.
Abstract: Battery-powered electric cars (BEVs) play a key role in future mobility scenarios. However, little is known about the environmental impacts of the production, use and disposal of the lithium ion (Li-ion) battery. This makes it difficult to compare the environmental impacts of BEVs with those of internal combustion engine cars (ICEVs). Consequently, a detailed lifecycle inventory of a Li-ion battery and a rough LCA of BEV based mobility were compiled. The study shows that the environmental burdens of mobility are dominated by the operation phase regardless of whether a gasoline-fueled ICEV or a European electricity fueled BEV is used. The share of the total environmental impact of E-mobility caused by the battery (measured in Ecoindicator 99 points) is 15%. The impact caused by the extraction of lithium for the components of the Li-ion battery is less than 2.3% (Ecoindicator 99 points). The major contributor to the environmental burden caused by the battery is the supply of copper and aluminum for the prod...
652 citations
"Life Cycle Analysis of Lithium-Ion ..." refers background or methods in this paper
...For aluminum components in the battery, existing studies [2,9,10] used the aluminum production mix in the ecoinvent database....
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...modeled graphite production by natural graphite mining and processing followed by calcination, and the energy requirement for the calcination step was based on thermodynamic calculations [2]....
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...In fact, most of the existing LCA studies on automotive LIBs are based on LCI data from four studies: Notter et al. (2010) [2], Majeau-Bettez et al. (2011) [9], Dunn et al. (2012) [14], and Ellingsen et al. (2014) [10], owing to their comprehensiveness and transparency....
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TL;DR: An introductory summary of the state-of-the-art production technologies for automotive LIBs is presented and the importance of understanding relationships between the production process and battery performance is discussed.
Abstract: Production technology for automotive lithium-ion battery (LIB) cells and packs has improved considerably in the past five years. However, the transfer of developments in materials, cell design and processes from lab scale to production scale remains a challenge due to the large number of consecutive process steps and the significant impact of material properties, electrode compositions and cell designs on processes. This requires an in-depth understanding of the individual production processes and their interactions, and pilot-scale investigations into process parameter selection and prototype cell production. Furthermore, emerging process concepts must be developed at lab and pilot scale that reduce production costs and improve cell performance. Here, we present an introductory summary of the state-of-the-art production technologies for automotive LIBs. We then discuss the key relationships between process, quality and performance, as well as explore the impact of materials and processes on scale and cost. Finally, future developments and innovations that aim to overcome the main challenges are presented. The battery manufacturing process significantly affects battery performance. This Review provides an introductory overview of production technologies for automotive batteries and discusses the importance of understanding relationships between the production process and battery performance.
598 citations
"Life Cycle Analysis of Lithium-Ion ..." refers background in this paper
...We believe the assumptions made in the other studies may not represent the current industrial practice, where NMP is typically used as the solvent for cathode slurry preparation, and water for anode [26,42]....
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...The separator could be the second largest contributor to the materials’ cost for cell production [26], and sell for $160/kg [23]....
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...Electrode production further consists of coating the slurry onto the current collector(s), drying, calendaring, and slitting [26]....
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...Because moisture is detrimental to the electrochemical performance of LIBs, the cell assembly process needs to occur in a dry room, in which the humidity is strictly controlled [26]....
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