Solid-state batteries can reduce the carbon footprint of electric vehicle (EV) batteries by 29 percent compared to current liquid lithium-ion batteries and can reduce it even further by using materials that are sourced sustainably, said a campaign group, Tuesday (19 July).
Based on a comparison of one of the most promising solid-state batteries with lithium-ion technology and using a sustainable lithium source, the battery’s carbon footprint could be reduced by as much as 39 percent, Transport and Environment (T&E) said.
The European climate group is calling for incentives to cut carbon footprints in new EV battery regulations that are being finalized by the European parliament and EU member states.
“Electric vehicles are already much better for the planet,” said T&E clean vehicle officer Cecilia Mattea in a statement. “But solid-state technology is a step change because higher energy densities mean much less material, and therefore much less emissions, needed to make them.”
Solid-state batteries, which use a solid ceramic material instead of a liquid electrolyte to conduct electricity, can store more energy, charge faster, and offer greater safety than liquid lithium-ion batteries.
Automakers including Ford and BMW are working with suppliers to develop solid-state batteries and they will start appearing in EVs in the second half of the decade.
Solid-state batteries require less graphite and cobalt, metals mostly produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has a large informal sector with a legacy of unsafe work practices and child labour.
T&E said that new lithium mining methods such as geothermal wells emit far less carbon dioxide than more commonly used sources including lithium from hard rock mined in Australia and refined in China.
Source: EGINDO.Co