Life cycle assessment of emerging batteries

Abstract

Population growth, economic development, and the transition to electrification are increasing the demand for advanced battery technologies, thus driving the development of next-generation batteries across various applications. This thesis explores the environmental impacts of emerging battery technologies: an all-organic battery, all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs), and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) by life cycle assessment (LCA) and prospective LCA. Battery dimensioning models were developed to calculate material requirements and corresponding battery specific energy for ASSBs, SIBs and LIBs, ensuring comparability across different battery technologies.

Based on kWh battery capacity, the all-organic battery exhibits higher environmental impacts compared to the LIB, which is primarily due to its low energy density and the significant impacts associated with the electrode production. ASSBs show comparable or higher climate impact than LIBs, which mainly is due to the solid-state electrolyte and cathode active materials, with the anode and current collector being significant contributors in the polymer-based ASSB. Regarding SIBs, the layered oxide type has a climate impact comparable to LIBs, while the polyanion type and the preussian blue analogues type exhibit higher climate impact. Moreover, it was revealed that transitioning from laboratory-scale to large-scale production could significantly reduce the environmental impact, largely due to the optimized material use and solvent recycling. Indeed, studies on both ASSBs and SIBs highlight the significant potential for reducing climate impact through battery performance optimization and grid decarbonization. The results can help to guide development of more environmentally friendly battery technologies. Additionally, key methodological insights gained from the four studies are included.

Keywords

all-organic battery; sodium-ion battery; all-solid-state battery; emerging technologies; prospective life cycle assessment; greenhouse gas emission

Published in

Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae
2024, number: 2024:62ISBN: 978-91-8046-353-9, eISBN: 978-91-8046-389-8Publisher: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

SLU Authors

• Zhang, Shan

  • Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

STandUP for Energy


UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Management
Environmental Sciences
Energy Systems


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54612/a.2on8u10o7s

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/130457