Life cycle assessment and carbon reduction potential prediction of electric vehicles batteries

Wenqi Wu; Nan Cong; Xueli Zhang; Qian Yue; Ming Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166620

Life cycle assessment and carbon reduction potential prediction of electric vehicles batteries

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Dec 10:903:166620. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166620. Epub 2023 Aug 27.

Authors

Wenqi Wu¹, Nan Cong², Xueli Zhang², Qian Yue², Ming Zhang³

Affiliations

¹ School of Economics and Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117585 Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address: wuwenqicumt@163.com.
² School of Economics and Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China.
³ School of Economics and Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China. Electronic address: zhangmingdlut@163.com.

PMID: 37643704
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166620

Abstract

Electric vehicles (EVs) battery is a crucial component of energy storage components for electric vehicles. However, the environmental impact of EVs battery is still not clear. Therefore, this paper establishes a cradle-to-cradle life cycle assessment (LCA) frame and clarifies the environmental impacts on the entire lifespan of EVs battery in China. Specifically, the environmental impact of battery production, battery use, and recycling & disposal stages are analyzed and measured. In addition, the carbon reduction potential of recycling and secondary use under a future electricity mix is estimated. Results show that: (1) The production stage of EVs battery with the carbon emission of 105 kgCO2-eq/kWh, which has the most significant impact on the environment. (2) In the recycling process, cascade utilization can reduce 1.536 kgCO2-eq/kWh carbon emission. In terms of recycling methods, hydrometallurgy can reduce the most carbon emission (13.3 kgCO2-eq/kWh), followed by the combined hydro-pyrometallurgical process (8.11 kgCO2-eq/kWh) and pyrometallurgy (0.57 kgCO2-eq/kWh). (3) Under the estimated electricity mix in 2030, 2040, and 2050, the carbon emission in battery production can be approximately reduced by 31.9 %, 45 %, and 48.1 %, respectively.

Keywords: Carbon reduction; EVs battery recycling; Life cycle assessment.