Life cycle analysis summary for automotive lithiumion battery production and recycling

Jennifer B. Dunn, Linda Gaines, Jarod C. Kelly, Kevin G. Gallagher

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Some have raised concerns regarding the contribution of lithium-ion battery pack production to the total electric vehicle energy and emissions profile versus internal combustion vehicles, and about potential battery end-of-life issues. This detailed life cycle analysis (LCA) examines these issues and identifies potential hot-spots within the battery pack life cycle for five cathode materials and a proposed lithium metal anode. The battery assembly stage, identified by some as an energy concern, is determined to be problematic only for “pioneer” plants (i.e. low-throughput facilities), but not for at-capacity plants, and battery electric vehicles with batteries from either facility type outperform conventional vehicles in terms of lowering GHG emissions. For atcapacity plants, the battery materials dominate energy impacts, with cathode materials representing 10-50% of that energy, depending on cathode type. Recycling can further mitigate battery life-cycle impacts, while also being economically attractive for all cathode materials, even those with low elemental values.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationREWAS 2016
Subtitle of host publicationTowards Materials Resource Sustainability
PublisherSpringer International Publishing
Pages73-79
Number of pages7
ISBN (Electronic)9783319487687
ISBN (Print)9781119225812
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2016

Keywords

  • Battery recycling
  • Life cycle analysis
  • Lithium-ion battery

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering
  • General Materials Science
  • General Environmental Science

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