REPORTS
Solid State Battery Life Cycle Analysis: Comparing CO2 impact of incumbent li-ion chemistries vs. emergent solid state technology
As part of the HISTORY (HIgh Silicon conTent anOdes for a solid state batteRY) project, HSSMI completed a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, evaluating the environmental impact of Ilika Technologies’ solid state battery (SSB) compared to a conventional lithium-ion battery (LIB).
The study measured Ilika’s Goliath SSB against an NMC pouch cell LIB, with the LCA functional unit defined as 1kWh of battery capacity. The system boundaries of the LCA were agreed as “cradle-to-gate”, measuring from raw material extraction through to completion of battery manufacture, although the later life phases of customer usage and waste disposal, for which there is currently only limited data, were also investigated. The full LCA study considered all major environmental impacts but focused on global warming potential, water use, energy use and abiotic resources depletion. This report presents a snapshot of this study.
The results show that the global warming potential (GWP) impact is approximately 10% lower for SSB than LIB technology. In terms of the raw materials, the total GWP for SSB is 55.2 kg CO2 equivalent and for LIB is 61.5 kg CO2 equivalent. The cathode active material is the main contributor to GWP in both cell types, accounting for about two thirds of the carbon footprint for both cells. The results also showed that the SSB cell had a 20% lower GWP than the LIB comparator for the manufacturing phase. Overall the SSB performed better in 17 out of the 18 environmental impact indicators measured. Based on the LCA results, Ilika have implemented several changes to minimise their environmental footprint including selecting a low impact electrolyte material and adapting their manufacturing process to be less energy intense.
The report concludes with four recommendations for Ilika to consider; firstly, to focus on the supply chain, particularly the sustainable supply of the cathode active material. Also to seek to use renewable energy during SSB production and to maximise the energy reduction opportunities with the FA&T (Formation, Aging & Testing) process. Finally it is recommended that Ilika work with battery recyclers to support end-of-life recycling.
You can read all about our work by downloading the report through following this link:
LCA White PaperSend download link to: |
For all press, media or general enquiries, please contact David Stewart on david.stewart@hssmi.com
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