Life Cycle Assessment of Emerging Battery Systems

Abstract

AbstractThe large-scale deployment of battery energy storage systems is critical for enabling the electrification of transport and the integration of renewable energy resources into regional electricity systems. Producing these systems, however, can impose various types and extents of environmental impacts and resource requirements. For relatively mature battery technologies, such as lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride, and certain variations of lithium-ion batteries, a robust life cycle assessment (LCA) literature exists that characterizes the environmental impacts and material requirements for these systems. Newer battery technologies, however, are constantly being explored, developed, and refined to improve upon the cost, durability, efficiency, or other performance parameters of relatively mature battery technologies. These newer technologies, including but not limited to solid-state lithium batteries, metal anode-based lithium batteries, non-lithium-based chemistries, flow batteries of different chemistries, and metal-air batteries, show promise from an in-use performance standpoint but do not yet have as robust of an LCA literature that characterizes their environmental impacts and resource requirements at scale. Here, we provide an overview of the present state of the art in the research literature of LCAs that characterize the potential environmental impacts and resource requirements of these emerging technologies as a basis for outlining needs for future research.