The automotive Li-ion battery value chain: lessons learnt from Life Cycle Assessment
Abstract
Rapid electrification of the vehicle fleet is currently at the top of the agenda for meeting climate goals in the transport sector. However, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the building blocks of electric vehicles (EVs), come with their own environmental trade-offs. This presentation provides a holistic view of the LIBs value chain for EVs, discussing how life cycle assessment (LCA) supports the integrated assessment of their production1, use2 and recycling and identifies opportunities for environmental impact reduction. A brief description of the LCA models developed for each stage of the LIB life cycle is followed by a detailed presentation of the main sources of environmental burdens. The local electricity mix, battery energy density and lifetime are shown to play a defining role on the overall environmental footprint of LIBs. The decarbonisation of electricity supply together with developments in battery technologies and the uptake of battery recycling are shown to have the potential to reduce substantially the environmental footprint of LIBs within the next decade.
1 E. Kallitsis, A. Korre, G. Kelsall, M. Kupfersberger and Z. Nie, Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020, 254, 120067.
2 L. Lander*, E. Kallitsis*, A. Hales, J. S.Edge, A. Korre and G. Offer, Applied Energy, 2021, 289, 116737.
Biography
Evangelos is a PhD candidate within the Minerals, Energy and Environmental Engineering group at Imperial College London. Trained as a Chemical Engineer (MEng, University of Patras, 2017) with a specialisation in Process Systems Engineering (MSc, Imperial College London, 2018), his research combines environmental and techno-economic modelling to study the production, use and recycling of lithium-ion batteries from a life cycle perspective.
About Energy Futures Lab
Energy Futures Lab is one of seven Global Institutes at Imperial College London. The institute was established to address global energy challenges by identifying and leading new opportunities to serve industry, government and society at large through high quality research, evidence and advocacy for positive change. The institute aims to promote energy innovation and advance systemic solutions for a sustainable energy future by bringing together the science, engineering and policy expertise at Imperial and fostering collaboration with a wide variety of external partners. The Energy Futures Lab daytime seminars are delivered by staff and students from across the College and further afield.