It is no secret that lithium-ion batteries will play a central role in energy storage and electric vehicle development. However, to make this critical technology more environmentally friendly, improvements need to be made in both manufacturing and end-of-life. Currently, creating lithium-ion batteries is carbon-intensive and done primarily in China. In fact, a report by the MIT Climate Portal explains that the production of lithium-ion batteries is more material-intensive than combustion engines. The end-of-life process likewise needs to be improved, both to prevent battery-related fires and accidents as well as to preserve and reuse the valuable minerals found within the batteries.
The most common lithium-ion batteries fall into three categories, meaning that improving production and end-of-life will need to be adaptable to fit each variation. Fortunately, these categories, lithium cobalt oxide, lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide, and lithium iron phosphate, include many of the same materials. By improving the extraction of materials such as lithium required for all the batteries and providing a higher recovery rate, each battery’s carbon footprint can be lessened. Higher recovery rates can increase the useful life of these materials while reducing reliance on imported goods and carbon-heavy industries, including mining.
Support authors and subscribe to content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.
