Comparison of three typical lithium-ion batteries for pure electric vehicles from the perspective of life cycle assessment

In the previous study, environmental impacts of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have become a concern due the large-scale production and application. The present paper aims to quantify the potential environmental impacts of LIBs in terms of life cycle assessment. Three different batteries are compared in this study: lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM) 811 batteries and NCM622 batteries. The results show that the environmental impacts caused by LIBs are mainly reflected in five aspects from eleven evaluation indexes: Abiotic depletion (fossil fuels), Global warming, Human toxicity potential (HTP), Freshwater ecotoxicity potential (FETP) and Marine ecotoxicity potential (METP). The production phase and assembly phase of LIBs are the main sources of Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, the GHG emissions of NCM622 battery is 156.73 kg CO2-eq/kWh, which accounts for 35.40% of the total GHG emissions. The study shows that the hydrometallurgy method in the recycling phase may not always be environmentally friendly for NCM batteries, it can increase the indicators of HTP, FETP and METP. The precursor materials in NCM batteries and the electricity consumption of LFP batteries are sensitive factors to environmental impacts, which can be effectively improved by improving the process and optimizing the electricity mixes. Suggestions for process optimization of China's LIBs industry are proposed based on the future electricity mixes.Graphical abstractLife cycle assessment of three typical lithium-ion batteries and sensitivity analysis of main contributors

Automated summary

This study quantifies the potential environmental impacts of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) through life cycle assessment and compares three different types of batteries. The results show that the production and assembly phases of LIBs contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and have significant impacts on climate change and human and ecological toxicity. The study suggests process optimization for China's LIBs industry based on future electricity mixes.