Despite the problems lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) pose, their demand is still increasing. With the mass production of LIBs increasing globally, total greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions from the production of LIBs are also rising rapidly. The mining of raw materials, production process and recycling process at the battery’s end-of-life release substantial amounts of GHGs. 

As the demand for LIBs is expected to rise by over 500% by 2030 (Kaunda, 2020), it is no surprise that the demand for minerals to produce LIBs such as lithium and nickel is expected to rise exponentially as well. Beaudet et al., 2020 (2020) estimate that the demand for lithium and nickel is expected to rise by over 575% and 1237% respectively in the decade. Besides the adverse environmental impact mining brings to the environment and local population as mentioned in the earlier blogs, mining itself is an emitter of GHGs. Today, global mining accounts for 4-7% of GHG emissions and this percentage is expected to increase further when global mass production of LIBs gains momentum (Henderson, 2020) (Figure 1). 

Figure 1: Lithium mine (Battery Industry, 2022)

Moving from raw materials to factories, the processes involved in the manufacturing of LIBs are also great emitters of GHGs. The production of a LIB is not a simple one, lasting from weeks to months depending on the type of batteries produced (EPEC, n.d.; Liu et al., 2021). The highly specific conditions during each phase of the production process also require high amounts of energy to sustain. Dry rooms, high temperatures and high-pressure equipment are all large electricity consumers (Liu et al., 2021) (Figure 2, 3).

Figure 2: General manufacturing process of LIBs (Liu et al., 2021)

Figure 3: Energy consumption of LIB manufacturing processes (Liu et al., 2021)

From Figure 3, we need 13.28 kWh of energy to produce a cell after summing the total energy consumption per cell of all the processes. Depending on the source of this energy comes from, the carbon dioxide emitted differs significantly (EIA, n.d.) (Figure 4). 

Figure 4: U.S. electricity net generation and resulting CO2 emissions by fuel in 2021 (EIA, n.d.)

Carbon emissions from LIB production will be significantly reduced should the majority of electricity be generated from renewable sources of energy. However, the global energy grid is still dominated by fossil fuels and coal, the most polluting fossil fuel (ClientEarth Communications, 2022). The largest GHG emitters today, China, the USA and India still rely heavily on fossil fuels particularly coal for China and India (World Population Review, 2023). In the US, fossil fuels are still responsible for over 60% of electricity generated (EIA, 2023), while coal alone still accounts for over 75% of electricity generated in India (Ministry of Coal, 2023). Despite the rapid development of renewables in China in recent years, coal still accounts for 55% of the energy generated in China (EIA, 2022). Therefore, without a significant change in the energy mix allowing renewables to dominate electricity production, the production of LIBs will without question become a great contributor to GHG emissions. 

 

Reference List

Battery Industry. (2022, June 3). Advance Lithium provides an update on mining law changes. BatteryIndustry.tech. https://batteryindustry.tech/advance-lithium-provides-an-update-on-mining-law-changes/ 

Beaudet, A., Larouche, F., Amouzegar, K., Bouchard, P., & Zaghib, K. (2020). Key Challenges and Opportunities for Recycling Electric Vehicle Battery Materials. Sustainability, 12(14), 5837. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145837 

ClientEarth Communications. (2022, February 18). Fossil fuels and climate change: the facts. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/latest-updates/stories/fossil-fuels-and-climate-change-the-facts/#:~:text=Coal%20is%20a%20fossil%20fuel,the%20world%27s%20total%20carbon%20emissions 

EIA. (n.d.). Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). US Energy Information Administration. https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=74&t=11 

EIA. (2022, August 8). International – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). US Energy Information Administration. https://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/country/CHN 

EIA. (2023). Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). US Energy Information Administration. https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=3 

EPEC. (n.d.). Battery Pack Development Timeline – Prototypes to Product Production. EPEC Engineered Technologies. https://www.epectec.com/batteries/development-timeline.html#:~:text=This%20process%20can%20range%20from,material%20and%20battery%20cell%20availability 

Henderson, K. (2020, August 27). Here’s how the mining industry can respond to climate change. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/sustainability-blog/here-is-how-the-mining-industry-can-respond-to-climate-change 

Kaunda, R. B. (2020). Potential environmental impacts of lithium mining. Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law, 38(3), 237–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646811.2020.1754596 

Liu, Y., Zhang, R., Wang, J., & Wang, Y. (2021). Current and future lithium-ion battery manufacturing. IScience, 24(4), 102332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102332 

Ministry of Coal. (2023). Generation of Thermal Power from Raw Coal. https://coal.nic.in/en/major-statistics/generation-of-thermal-power-from-raw-coal 

World Population Review. (2023). Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Country 2023. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-country