The first task of the energy transition is to electrify applications such as vehicles and heating and ensure that the electricity that powers them comes from renewable energy. However, once the dominant parts of the emissions pie become smaller, other categories with lower emissions reduction potential become important.
A new study led by Haiwei Zhou at the University of Melbourne focused on the emissions associated with manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, which many parts of the energy transition rely on. These emissions are not zero. So as we use more and more batteries, this number will increase. Currently, researchers estimate that these emissions represent just 0.18 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions, but by 2050 they could increase by a factor of 10 or more.
Avoid production
There are a number of ways to reduce the emissions required to produce a battery. Some elements used in various lithium-ion battery chemistries are more energy intensive to extract and refine than others. The battery manufacturing process involves many steps that could be made more energy efficient. And then there is recycling, which can put battery materials back into the cycle while requiring much less energy than mining.
But the researchers wanted to compare options on the demand side of the equation. Instead of reducing the carbon footprint per battery, this means reducing the number of batteries we need to produce and eliminating their emissions entirely.
The team used projections of the full lifecycle emissions of batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage through 2050. This includes regional differences in demand and electricity production using future scenarios from the International Energy Agency. So the emissions savings estimates are compared not only to the current state of industries, but also to industries in a future world with more batteries, more waste batteries to recycle, and a cleaner power grid.
