Category Archives: Lithium-ion battery

Lithium-ion battery

What lies ahead for the future of LIBs and what can we do?

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Having discussed so much about the negative impacts and pollution lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) cause, can we really just do away with LIBs altogether? And what do we replace it if we were ever to get rid of LIBs altogether? To what extent can we blame the increasing pollution by LIBs on the decreasing cost of LIBs? These are all unanswered questions that remain difficult to answer. 

While LIB and the process of manufacturing and disposing of them can be very polluting, we continue relying heavily on them. Their close relationship with renewable energy makes them even more sticky issue. The decreasing cost of LIBs has also undeniably played an important role in allowing the implementation of renewable green energy to become more economically feasible than ever by reducing their margins between fossil fuel-produced energy (Gielen et al., 2019). Global greenhouse gas emissions can potentially decrease significantly once renewables reach grid parity. 

Do we attempt to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by moving towards renewables instead while knowingly producing more LIBs or reduce LIB-related pollution by continue sticking with fossil fuels? For now, as global warming and climate change is the most pressing environmental issue globally discussed, reducing GHGs will take priority (United Nations, n.d.). However, what will happen when LIB-related pollution starts impacting the global environment negatively we will never know. Will it become the next plastic? It has brought us so much convenience by allowing us to store energy efficiently. Yet we still do not have a perfect way of discarding them when they are no longer deemed useful to us. 

Moreover, will there be a new energy storage technology that will emerge as economically competitive and greener than LIBs? Even if there is, constructing such an energy storage system will require minerals and resources which are polluting in their own ways.

Nevertheless, these blogs are not here to reject LIBs altogether. I still do believe that they are important for the future of clean energy. The main message I hope to get across is that as long as our demand for energy continues to rise, no matter how ‘clean’ our energy becomes, it will never become completely ‘green’. While we cannot stop using energy and electricity altogether, we should be aware of the impacts these ‘clean’ energy has and never stop looking for ways to reduce their impacts (United Nations, n.d.).

What will happen to the future of LIBs, only time will tell. For now, reducing our energy use is a simple way to start protecting our environment. 

Reference List

Gielen, D., Boshell, F., Saygin, D., Bazilian, M., Wagner, N. L., & Gorini, R. (2019). The role of renewable energy in the global energy transformation. Energy Strategy Reviews, 24, 38–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2019.01.006 

United Nations. (n.d.). Li-ion batteries – powering the fossil-fuel-free economy | United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/Frontier-Technologies-Issues

Lithium, Lithium Pollution, Lithium-ion battery

Problems associated with recycling of LIBs

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Despite having discussed all the environmental and social impacts of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), we cannot ignore the fact that the demand for LIBs will continue to rise due to their importance in the clean energy sector. To reduce pollution in a trend that cannot be reversed, many would think of the 3Rs, reduce, reuse and recycle. However, as briefly mentioned in the first few blogs, implementing the 3Rs have its own set of problems. As the demand for LIBs is expected to grow exponentially, reducing the use of LIBs is not very feasible now. Hence, this blog will mainly explore the challenges related to reusing and recycling LIBs. 

Reusing LIBs:

Reusing refurbished or repurposed LIBs is not a new practice. LIBs have long been reused for less demanding purposes at the end of their first end-of-life (Beaudet et al., 2020). This is because most batteries will still have a charge capacity of up to 80% at their first end of life (Beaudet et al., 2020).Through reusing these LIBs, demand for new LIBs which are much more polluting due to pollution related to production decreases. 

However, the decreasing production cost of LIBs especially in recent years has made reusing LIBs increasingly less economically viable (Beaudet et al., 2020; Ziegler et al., 2021; Mauler et al., 2021). According to Ziegler et al. (2021), LIB technology has decreased by up to 97% since they were first commercially used 30 years ago. This exponential decrease in the cost of LIBs is closely tied to the emergence of Chinese LIB producers (Figure 1) (Wakabayashi & Fu, 2022). Along with the stagnation of the high restoration cost of LIBs, it is becoming increasingly attractive for manufacturers to choose new LIBs rather than refurbish old ones. 

Figure 1: Decrease in LIB technology over the years (Mauler et al., 2021)

Recycling LIBs: 

The recycling process of LIBs remains tedious due to the cumbersome collection and recycling process (Spector, 2022; Beaudet et al., 2020). Although governments such as the Chinese government have encouraged manufacturers to choose recycled materials for manufacturing (Wei et al., 2022), the success of these efforts is put into question. It is costly, time-consuming and troublesome for manufacturers to collect the LIBs back for disassembling and recycling (Spector, 2022; Beaudet et al., 2020). LIBs that are exported overseas will need to be shipped back to manufacturers if manufacturers do not have factories overseas which are more often than not the case. 

What about engaging a recycling firm?

While engaging a third part recycling firm may sound feasible, it is often difficult for manufacturers and recycling firms to reach an agreement due to a variety of reasons. Due to intellectual property rights and industrial secrets, manufacturers are often unwilling to share the chemical formulas of batteries with third-party recycling firms making the safe discharging of batteries an extremely difficult one (Sachan et al., 2020). Disassembling a battery without discharging often leads to explosions and fires making LIB recycling facilities particularly expensive to protect the safety of workers and ensure a safe disassembling process. 

Reference List

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 

Mauler, L., Duffner, F., Zeier, W. G., & Leker, J. (2021). Battery cost forecasting: a review of methods and results with an outlook to 2050. Energy and Environmental Science, 14(9), 4712–4739. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ee01530c 

Sachan, S., Deb, S., & Singh, S. N. (2020). Different charging infrastructures along with smart charging strategies for electric vehicles. Sustainable Cities and Society, 60, 102238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102238 

Spector, J. (2022, June 13). EV battery recycling is costly. These 5 startups could change that. Canary Media. https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/electric-vehicles/ev-battery-recycling-is-costly-these-five-startups-could-change-that 

Wakabayashi, D., & Fu, C. (2022, September 27). For China’s Auto Market, Electric Isn’t the Future. It’s the Present. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/26/business/china-electric-vehicles.html 

Wei, L., Wang, C., & Li, Y. (2022). Governance strategies for end-of-life electric vehicle battery recycling in China: A tripartite evolutionary game analysis. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.1071688 

Ziegler, M. S., Song, J., & Trancik, J. E. (2021). Determinants of lithium-ion battery technology cost decline. Energy and Environmental Science, 14(12), 6074–6098. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ee01313k 

Environmental pollution, Lithium-ion battery

Carbon footprint of lithium-ion battery production

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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 

CO and CO2, Electric Vehicles, Environmental pollution, Lithium-ion battery, Toxic gases

Toxic gases released during the burning of Lithium-ion batteries (CO and CO2)

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Similar to hydrogen fluoride (HF), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are common toxic gases that are released in the burning of LIB (Peng et al., 2020 ). CO is one of the two asphyxiant gas in ISO 13571 (Peng et al., 2020). 

ISO 13571:2012 establishes procedures to evaluate the life-threatening components of fire hazard analysis in terms of the status of exposed human subjects at discrete time intervals. – (International Organization for Standardization, 2020)

What is an asphyxiant gas?

Asphyxiant gas is a gas that results in hypoxia, the decrease of oxygen level in body tissue (Cleveland Clinic, 2022), by disarranging oxygen in the respiratory system (Gold, 2022). Besides hypoxia, asphyxiant gases will also cause ischaemia and metabolic acidosis (Gold, 2022; Cowled, 2011). Ischaemia causes deficiencies in blood oxygen, glucose and other substances (Cowled, 2011). When the supply of blood is lower than the demand, the body is no longer able to support essential normal functions (Cowled, 2011). The decrease in blood oxygen and other key substances deranges metabolic function which plays a crucial role in converting food and water into energy in the body (Cowled, 2011; Schoeller & Fjeld, 1991). On the other hand, metabolic acidosis is the buildup of acid in the body when the kidney is unable to remove enough acid in time due to failure (Gold, 2022). 

Symptoms:

  • Headaches, vomiting, lethargy, confusion
  • Loss of appetite 
  • Chest pain
  • Shortness of breath 
  • Fast heart rate
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Cardiac arrest

(Gold, 2022)

The symptoms a person suffers from by inhaling CO vary according to the concentration of CO and the duration they are exposed to. Furthermore, the deleterious effects of CO can be amplified when CO2 is breathed in with CO (Peng et al., 2020). As both of these gases are produced in conjunction with the burning of batteries, the effects of CO will be intensified. 

According to CO2 Meter (2023), the duration before CO takes effect significantly reduces when the concentration of CO exceeds 200 ppm (Figure 1). 

Figure 1: Carbon monoxide levels chart (CO2 Meter, 2023)

Burning behaviours of a 68 Ah battery (Figure 2) was studied by Peng et al. (2020) at different state of charge (SOC) and the concentration of CO and CO2 released over time was studied (Figure 3). 

Figure 2: 68 Ah lithium iron phosphate battery (Peng et al., 2020)

Figure 3: Experimental setup (Peng et al., 2020)

Batteries at a higher SOC produced the maximum CO and CO2 in the shortest duration after the battery started burning (Peng et al., 2020) (Figure 4). CO production reached a maximum of 258 ppm for 100% SOC albeit for a very short duration (Peng et al., 2020). 

Figure 4: Graphs of CO and CO2 production (Peng et al., 2020)

Although this concentration of CO will not have immediate health impacts when exposed to such a short period of time (Figure 1), we must bear in mind that this experiment used a 68 Ah battery with a nominal voltage of 3.22 V (Peng et al., 2020). According to E.ON, (n.d.), the battery capacity of an electric car (EV) is around 40 kWh with some going as high as 100 kWh and the common voltage of the batteries are 280 V and 360 V (Matsusada Precision Inc., 2019). A battery with a capacity of  40 kWh and voltage of 280 V will have a current of 143 Ah, more than double the current of the battery used in the experiment. Burning this battery will most likely increase the concentration of CO and CO2 produced to a lethal concentration that is fatal within minutes of exposure (Figure 1). 

 

Reference List

Cleveland Clinic. (2022). Hypoxia: Causes, Symptoms, Tests, Diagnosis & Treatment. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23063-hypoxia#:~:text=Hypoxia%20is%20low%20levels%20of,Hypoxia%20can%20be%20life%2Dthreatening 

CO2 Meter. (2023, January 23). Carbon Monoxide Levels Chart. https://www.co2meter.com/blogs/news/carbon-monoxide-levels-chart 

Cowled, P. (2011). Pathophysiology of Reperfusion Injury. Mechanisms of Vascular Disease – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534267/#:~:text=Ischaemia%20occurs%20when%20the%20blood,begin%20during%20this%20ischaemic%20phase 

E.ON. (n.d.). Electric vehicles | Battery | Capacity and Lifespan. https://www.eonenergy.com/electric-vehicle-charging/costs-and-benefits/battery-capacity-and-lifespan.html#:~:text=The%20average%20capacity%20is%20around,higher%20the%20kWh%20the%20better 

Gold, A. (2022, September 26). EMS Asphyxiation And Other Gas And Fire Hazards. StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519487/ 

International Organization for Standardization. (2020). ISO 13571:2012. ISO. https://www.iso.org/standard/56172.html 

Matsusada Precision Inc. (2019, June 4). Power Supply and Voltage of EV Motor | Tech | Matsusada Precision. Matsusada Precision. https://www.matsusada.com/column/ev-power.html#:~:text=Lithium%2Dion%20batteries%20are%20the,connected%20in%20series%20and%20parallel 

Peng, Y., Yang, L., Ju, X., Liao, B., Ye, K., Li, L., Cao, B., & Ni, Y. (2020). A comprehensive investigation on the thermal and toxic hazards of large format lithium-ion batteries with LiFePO4 cathode. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 381, 120916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.120916 

Schoeller, D. A., & Fjeld, C. R. (1991). Human Energy Metabolism: What Have We Learned from the Doubly Labeled Water Method? Annual Review of Nutrition, 11(1), 355–373. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.nu.11.070191.002035 

Electric Vehicles, Environmental pollution, Lithium-ion battery, Pollution, Toxic gases

Toxic gases released during the burning of Lithium-ion batteries

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Today, lithium-ion batteries (LIB)/ grid-scale battery storage is one of the fastest-growing energy storage systems globally with China, US and Europe leading the market (Schoenfisch & Dasgupta, 2022) (Figure 1). Although the global economy plunged in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, the battery market continued to grow exponentially. Between 2020 and 2021, the grid-scale battery storage market saw an annual increase of over 60% in global storage capacity (Schoenfisch & Dasgupta, 2022). 

Figure 1: Annual grid-scale battery storage additions and distribution (Schoenfisch & Dasgupta, 2022)

In spite of the rapid growth in grid-scale battery storage, the global capacity remains undesirably low should we want to reach a net zero scenario. To meet the goal, Schoenfisch & Dasgupta (2022) estimate that the global grid-scale battery storage capacity will have to increase to 680 GW by 2030 (Figure 2). 

Figure 2: Required annual increase of gird-scale battery storage to meet the net zero scenario (Schoenfisch & Dasgupta, 2022)

Although LIB is an excellent alternative and direction towards a low-carbon future, the gaps and problems these batteries continue to plague the industry. The most pressing problem these batteries have today is their sensitivity to high temperatures and susceptibility to burn (Ghiji et al., 2020) (Figure 3). There are a few ways a LIB can be ignited, they include short-circuit, overcharging, exposure to high temperature, mechanical stress and more (Larsson et al., 2017). The hazardous nature of these batteries is particularly risky when used in vehicles such as electrical vehicles and aeroplanes (Ghiji et al., 2020). 

Figure 3: Electric car on fire (Ghoshal, 2021)

According to Larsson et al. (2017), the electrolyte of LIBs often contains lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) or other Li-salts containing fluorine, which are highly flammable and reactive compounds (Guo et al., 2020). Furthermore, fluorine is commonly found in other parts of the LIB in components such as fire retardants and electrodes (Larsson et al., 2017). Being one of the lightest and most reactive metals, this makes LIBs extremely vulnerable to high temperatures and combustion. 

Besides the immediate thermal damage from burning, LIBs also release toxic gases such as carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen fluoride (HF) (Zhang et al., 2022). The decomposition of LiPF6 is further exacerbated when water is used as an extinguisher (Larsson et al., 2017). 

LiPF6  → LiF + PF5 – (1)

PF5 + H2O + → POF3 + 2HF – (2)

LiPF6 + H2O → LiF + POF3 + 2HF – (3)

Additionally, the composition of toxic gases released between different batteries varies according to the particular chemical composition and state of charge (SOC) of each battery (Larsson et al., 2017). The volume and threat of toxic gases released are also larger for bigger cell packs (Larsson et al., 2017). When a large amount of electrolyte evaporates when batteries are heated, this gas may not ignite immediately when released but may accumulate and result in gas explosions at later stages (Larsson et al., 2017). 

In the coming blogs, I will explore the toxic gases produced from the combustion of LIBs in detail so stay tuned for more!

 

Reference List

Ghiji, M., Novozhilov, V., Moinuddin, K., Joseph, P., Burch, I. A., Suendermann, B., & Gamble, G. (2020). A Review of Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Suppression. Energies, 13(19), 5117. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13195117 

Ghoshal, A. (2021, December 15). How Lithium Ion batteries in EVs catch fire – Adreesh Ghoshal – Medium. Medium. https://adreesh-ghoshal.medium.com/how-lithium-ion-batteries-in-evs-catch-fire-9d166c5b3af1 

Guo, F., Ozaki, Y., Nishimura, K., Hashimoto, N., & Fujita, O. (2020). Influence of lithium salts on the combustion characteristics of dimethyl carbonate-based electrolytes using a wick combustion method. Combustion and Flame, 213, 314–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.combustflame.2019.12.001 

Larsson, F., Andersson, P., Blomqvist, P., & Mellander, B. (2017). Toxic fluoride gas emissions from lithium-ion battery fires. Scientific Reports, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-09784-z 

Schoenfisch, M., & Dasgupta, A. (2022, September). Grid-Scale Storage – Analysis – IEA. IEA. https://www.iea.org/reports/grid-scale-storage 

Zhang, L., Duan, Q., Meng, X., Jin, K., Xu, J., Sun, J., & Wang, Q. (2022). Experimental investigation on intermittent spray cooling and toxic hazards of lithium-ion battery thermal runaway. Energy Conversion and Management, 252, 115091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2021.115091

Electric Vehicles, Environmental pollution, Lithium Pollution, Lithium-ion battery

Lithium-ion batteries and Regulations in Singapore

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As Li pollution is a relatively new pollution that has only appeared in the past 2 to 3 decades, the attention it receives remains limited. Today, only a few countries such as Australia (Shen et al., 2020), have identified and listed Li as a pollutant in water. Li is also missing from the list of pollutants tested to qualify water as safe drinking water published by PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency (Public Utilities Board, n.d.) (Figure 1). With the growing concentration of Li to levels no longer negligible in the environment, it is necessary to include Li as a pollutant in indicators (Shen et al., 2020).

Figure 1: Singapore Drinking Water Quality (Jul 2021 – Jun 2022) (Public Utilities Board, n.d.)

Besides the lack of Li indicators, there is also a lack of standards and regulations imposed on lithium-ion battery producers. Despite having over a decade of production history in China, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment only issued the Technical Specification of Pollution Control for Treatment of Waste Power Lithium-ion Battery at the end of 2021 (AOKI, 2021). On the other hand, places where the lithium-ion battery industry is still very young such as Australia does not have related regulations and standards for new battery factories yet (ERAC, n.d.). Very often, places that lack a national standard for battery manufacturing will refer to overseas standards such as CE standards required by the European Union (EU, 2022) (Figure 2).

Figure 2: CE sign (American Society for Quality, n.d.)

However, as these are just references, factories are not legally required to abide by these standards. Without proper enforcement, Li waste material can easily escape into the environment polluting water sources consumed and used for agriculture. Drinking Li-polluted water for prolonged periods can have detrimental health impacts. 

 

Moving back to Singapore, although Singapore does not currently have a lithium-ion battery of its own, Singapore continues to rely heavily on lithium-ion battery-powered devices and machines. In an effort to reduce carbon emissions, The Singapore Green Plan 2030 campaigns to raise awareness and promote electric vehicles to the public (LTA, 2022) (Figure 3). 

The Singapore Green Plan 2030 includes a strong push to electrify our vehicle population, which would help Singapore achieve our vision of 100% cleaner energy vehicles by 2040. – LTA, 2022

Figure 3: Power EVery Move campaign logo (LTA, 2022)

This move towards EVs will no doubt significantly increase the use and disposal of lithium-ion batteries. Currently, little information can be found online about the recycling and management of these lithium-ion batteries in Singapore. To promote the use of these batteries, Tan (2020), Director of the Waste and Resource Management Department National Environment Agency (NEA), has even gone on to state that 

Lithium-ion batteries are not hazardous, while nickel metal hydride batteries are hermetically sealed to prevent materials within the batteries from escaping into the environment. 

However, Li does have impacts on the environment and humans when consumed and lithium-ion batteries do contain nickel and other heavy metals in its cathode etc. (Yan et al., 2020). Given the increase in the concentration of Li in rivers in Shanghai and other major cities due to the increase in lithium-ion batteries (Shen et al., 2020), Singapore must ensure that proper regulations are set in place to ensure that these batteries are properly recycled and disposed of. 

 

Reference List

 

American Society for Quality. (n.d.). What is CE Marking? – CE Mark Certification vs. Self Declaration | ASQ. https://asq.org/quality-resources/ce-marking 

AOKI, K. (2021, September 17). China issues technical standards to control pollution from treatment of EVs’ waste lithium-ion batteries | Enviliance ASIA. Enviliacne ASIA. https://enviliance.com/regions/east-asia/cn/report_4282 

ERAC. (n.d.). Standards – ERAC. https://www.erac.gov.au/standards/

EU. (2022). CE marking – obtaining the certificate, EU requirements. Your Europe. https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/product-requirements/labels-markings/ce-marking/index_en.htm

LTA. (2022, April). LTA | Electric Vehicles. https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltagov/en/industry_innovations/technologies/electric_vehicles.html 

Public Utilities Board. (n.d.). Singapore Drinking Water Quality. In Public Utilities Board. https://www.pub.gov.sg/Documents/Singapore_Drinking_Water_Quality.pdf 

Shen, J., Li, X., Shi, X., Wang, W., Zhou, H., Wu, J., Wang, X., & Li, J. (2020). The toxicity of lithium to human cardiomyocytes. Environmental Sciences Europe, 32(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-020-00333-6 

Tan, D. (2020, April). Readers’ Letters. National Environment Agency. https://www.nea.gov.sg/media/readers-letters/index/nea-ensures-that-all-e-waste-recyclers-have-the-necessary-pollution-control-equipment-to-meet-nea-s-emissions-and-discharge-standards 

Yan, W., Yang, S., Huang, Y., Yang, Y., & Guohui Yuan. (2020). A review on doping/coating of nickel-rich cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 819, 153048. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.153048 

 

Electric Vehicles, Lithium-ion battery, Pollution

Electric Vehicles and Batteries

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Globally, the transport sector has long been one of the most reliant sectors on fossil fuels, accounting for 37% of total CO2 emissions in 2021 (IEA, 2023). Transport by road consistently accounts for more than half of the emissions (Figure 1). In an effort to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has accelerated in recent years and so has the demand for lithium-ion batteries. According to IEA (Goodall, 2021), to achieve net carbon neutrality by the middle of the century, no new fossil-fuel-powered cars can be sold from 2035.

Figure 1: (IEA, 2023)

Automobil giants such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, etc. have all agreed and rolled out plans to stop the production and selling of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles in the next one to two decades (Castelvecchi, 2021, Milman, 2021). Similarly, some countries and cities around the world including Canada, New Zealand and Australian Capital Territory have pledged to phase out new fossil-fuel-powered vehicles in the coming decades (Castelvecchi, 2021, Milman, 2021). Although EVs only made up 4.2% of light commercial vehicle sales in 2020, sales increased by nearly twice compared to 2019 (World Economic Forum, 2021). This figure was duplicated again in 2021 (IEA, 2022). 

While the move towards EVs is quite a certain one today (Figure 2), EVs come with their own set of problems. As mentioned in the previous blog, lithium, the key component of batteries and EVs, has its own environmental and social problems that need to be urgently addressed. 

Figure 2: (Castelvecchi, 2021)

Additionally, the ability to recover and recycle lithium and other resources from EVs and batteries effectively and cost-efficiently remains a pressing issue for researchers and companies. As batteries are hazardous waste, incorrect disposal of lithium-ion batteries will have detrimental environmental impacts and adverse impacts on biodiversity (Castelvecchi, 2021). Realising the severity and scale of this issue, governments are now investing in research centres for metal recycling and have rolled out incentives for battery manufacturing companies to source from recycling firms instead of mines (Castelvecchi, 2021). 

Because it is still less expensive, in most instances, to mine metals than to recycle them, a key goal is to develop processes to recover valuable metals cheaply enough to compete with freshly mined ones. “The biggest talker is money,” says Jeffrey Spangenberger, a chemical engineer at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois, who manages a US federally funded lithium-ion battery-recycling initiative, called ReCell. 

Government policies are helping to encourage this: China already has financial and regulatory incentives for battery companies that source materials from recycling firms instead of importing freshly mined ones, says Hans Eric Melin, managing director of Circular Energy Storage, a consulting company in London.

Due to differences in chemical composition, recycling of batteries is most effective when battery manufacturers recycle their own batteries as they are most aware of their own chemical formula used in batteries (Castelvecchi, 2021). However, the tedious logistics behind this process make this practice a challenging one. Although it is unclear what percentage of lithium-ion batteries are being recycled today, the current capacity to recycle lithium-ion batteries from EVs is far from adequate (Reid, 2022). 

Even though EVs and lithium-ion batteries continue to result in environmental pollution and social issues and it’s recycling sector is nowhere near enough, analysts believe that they will continue to stay and dominate for the time being given their significant reduction in cost making it more economically feasible than ever (Figure 3). 

 

Figure 3: (Castelvecchi, 2021)

 

Reference List

Castelvecchi, D. (2021, August 17). Electric cars and batteries: how will the world produce enough? Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02222-1?error=cookies_not_supported&code=227be120-acd6-4d8a-8d8c-966f5a95751e 

Goodall. (2021, February 9). Latest news Archives. Zap-Map. https://www.zap-map.com/category/latest-news/ 

IEA. (2022). Global EV Outlook 2022 – Data product. https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-product/global-ev-outlook-2022 

IEA. (2023). Transport – Topics. https://www.iea.org/topics/transport 

Milman, O. (2021, November 11). Car firms agree at Cop26 to end sale of fossil fuel vehicles by 2040. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/10/cop26-car-firms-agree-to-end-sale-of-fossil-fuel-vehicles-by-2040 

Reid, C. (2022, August 1). Electric Car Batteries Lasting Longer Than Predicted Delays Recycling Programs. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2022/08/01/electric-car-batteries-lasting-longer-than-predicted-delays-recycling-programs/?sh=223d632c5332 

World Economic Forum. (2021, February 19). Which countries sell the most electric cars? https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/electric-vehicles-europe-percentage-sales/ 

Environmental pollution, Lithium-ion battery, Pollution

Lithium-ion battery is the future of renewable green energy – but how clean is Lithium?

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While international organisations such as the United Nations and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have continuously pushed for renewable green energy in recent decades, technological limitations specifically the safe storage of clean energy have remained a major obstacle in implementing renewable energy on a global scale. The invention of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in 1991 and the continuous breakthrough in lithium-ion battery energy storage capacity in recent years have allowed the commercialisation of renewable energy to become more feasible than ever (International Energy Agency, 2020). The potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the two most polluting sectors electricity generation and transportation is especially high (United Nations, 2021).  The development of lithium-ion batteries has been recognised so much so that John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their significant contributions to the field in 2019 (see here). 

Figure 1: (United Nations, 2021)

Although lithium-ion batteries play a consequential part in the progression towards renewable green energy, the quest for lithium has been a deadly one to both humans and biodiversity. Lithium mines compete with other industrial and social activities for precious water resources which often leads to social unrest and clashes between local communities and mining companies. An example of this would be conflicts in the Lithium Triangle in South America (parts of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile), home to an estimated 57% of the world’s lithium supply (Liu & Agusdinata, 2020). Geographically located in an already water-scarce area, Salar de Atacama, Chile diverts 65% of its water in the region for mining which unsurprisingly leads to social tensions between locals and mining companies (Katwala, 2018) (Figure 2). 

Figure 2: (Köppel, 2022) 

Apart from competing for resources, lithium mines are also a source of toxic chemicals to the local environment, particularly when mining and extraction processes are not well managed. Chemical leaks pollute water sources and when used for agriculture, contaminate soil and the crops grown which severely threatens the health of both humans and biodiversity (Bolan et al., 2021). Toxic chemical leaks in Tagong, Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China have had adverse impacts on the local biodiversity. Fish in the local river has been killed in mass and some have reported sighting dead mammals such as cows along the river likely linked to the consumption of contaminated water (Figure 3).

Figure 3: (Environmental Justice Atlas, 2018) 

Pollution and environmental degradation due to lithium mining is not a problem unique to developing countries like Chile and China. Developed countries including the USA and Australia which are also major producers of lithium suffer similar problems due to reliance on older lithium extraction techniques which require more chemicals (Katwala, 2018). 

“Research in Nevada found impacts on fish as far as 150 miles [around 241.4 km] downstream from a lithium processing operation.” – Katwala, 2018

Figure 4: (Sawyer, 2022) 

The aggressive push for renewable green energy by global institutions and many nations has often overshadowed the environmental cost behind lithium mining and other raw material extraction related to renewable energy. Although the immediate reduction in GHG is a global priority for a livable and sustainable future, negative impacts created during this process must too be addressed. Solving a problem by creating a new one is not a sustainable one. Innovation for cleaner lithium mining and extraction processes (Gu & Gao, 2021) is a possible way forward before another cleaner, more affordable and more efficient way of producing and storing energy is discovered. 

Figure 5: (Bhutada, 2023)

 

Reference List

Bhutada, G. (2023, January 6). This chart shows more than 25 years of lithium production by country. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/chart-countries-produce-lithium-world/ 

Bolan, N., Hoang, S. A., Tanveer, M., Wang, L., Bolan, S., Sooriyakumar, P., Robinson, B., Wijesekara, H., Wijesooriya, M., Keerthanan, S., Vithanage, M., Markert, B., Fränzle, S., Wünschmann, S., Sarkar, B., Vinu, A., Kirkham, M., Siddique, K. H., & Rinklebe, J. (2021). From mine to mind and mobiles – Lithium contamination and its risk management. Environmental Pollution, 290, 118067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118067 

Environmental Justice Atlas. (2018). Protests against mining of lithium by the Lichu River in Kangding, TAP Ganzi, Sichuan, China | EJAtlas. https://ejatlas.org/conflict/a-sudden-mass-death-of-fish-in-the-lichu-river-in-minyak-lhagang-dartsedo-county-in-karze-prefecture 

Gu, G., & Gao, T. (2021). Sustainable production of lithium salts extraction from ores in China: Cleaner production assessment. Resources Policy, 74, 102261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.102261 

International Energy Agency. (2020, September 22). A rapid rise in battery innovation is playing a key role in clean energy transitions – News. https://www.iea.org/news/a-rapid-rise-in-battery-innovation-is-playing-a-key-role-in-clean-energy-transitions 

Katwala, A. (2018). The spiralling environmental cost of our lithium battery addiction. In WIRED on Energy. WIRED on Energy. https://www.wecanfigurethisout.org/ENERGY/Web_notes/Energy_Consumption/Greener_Cars_and_Trucks_Supporting_Files/Spiralling%20environmental%20cost%20of%20our%20lithium%20battery%20addiction%20-%20WIRED%20UK%20-%202018.pdf 

Köppel, J. (2022, February 8). Mining Indigenous Territories – Agree to disagree? Lithium Worlds. https://lithiumworlds.com/mining-indigenous-territories/ 

Liu, W., & Agusdinata, D. B. (2020). Interdependencies of lithium mining and communities sustainability in Salar de Atacama, Chile. Journal of Cleaner Production, 260, 120838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120838 

Sawyer, A. (2022, November 24). Nevada Fish Threatens and Is Threatened by Geothermal, Lithium Projects. NewsData, LLC. https://www.newsdata.com/california_energy_markets/southwest/nevada-fish-threatens-and-is-threatened-by-geothermal-lithium-projects/article_d59dc75a-6b74-11ed-991a-1ffb38c847bc.html 

The Nobel Prize. (2023). Nobel Prizes 2022. NobelPrize.org. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2019/popular-information/ 

United Nations. (2021). Frontier Technology Issues: Lithium-ion batteries: a pillar for a fossil fuel-free economy? | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/frontier-technology-issues-lithium-ion-batteries-a-pillar-for-a-fossil-fuel-free-economy/