The Truth Behind Electric Vehicle Batteries

In my last blog post, I discussed the sustainability behind electric vehicles' (EVs) charging. Another
critical factor behind their overall environmental impact lies behind the car's battery. According to the US International Trade Commission (USITC), "Lithium-ion batteries made up 70 percent of the rechargeable battery market in 2016; since then, EV-driven demand for lithium-ion batteries has risen, and will likely continue to rise as long as lithium-ion batteries are the primary power source for EVs," and the production of these batteries is only continuing to rise. This sharp trend had me wondering about the environmental impacts of EV production, especially the car battery, which is their key differentiator compared to regular motor cars. 

      Firstly, EVs utilizing a lithium-ion battery, are not carbon neutral, as "...battery production is associated with 56 to 494 kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour of battery capacity (kg CO2/kWh) for electric vehicles, " plus an additional 1–2 g CO2 per kilometer per kWh of the battery's capacity, according to a report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). The report further states that "...the largest share of carbon emissions in the battery production process comes from the electricity used in manufacturing," and that powering the production with renewable energy could dramatically decrease the overall CO2 emissions. This indicates that EVs are more environmentally friendly over their lifetime, and will likely continue to become even more as the renewable energy sector expands. Still, for now, their initial production does contribute to CO2 emissions. 

Image Credit: https://www.quick220.com/blog/environmental-impact-of-evs-over-lifecycle/

      Unfortunately, the list of environmental concerns regarding lithium-ion batteries goes on. The world's lithium is primarily found in South America's Lithium Triangle, which spans over parts of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. Over 500,000 gallons of water get used up to extract a metric ton of the lithium needed to manufacture the battery, according to the Institute for Energy Research (IER). This process has drained up to 65% of the water in certain areas of the region, having a detrimental effect on farmers, who will now need to travel far away to obtain the water they need to grow their crops. Furthermore, the process of extracting lithium comes with a high risk of toxic chemical leaks, such as hydrochloric acid. These toxins end up polluting the water supply, with "...researchers [finding] impacts on fish as far as 150 miles downstream from a lithium processing operation," according to the IER. These chemicals also significantly contribute to both air and soil contamination. Another significant material needed to produce the battery, is cobalt; according to the USITC, "The Democratic Republic of the Congo produced more than one-half of worldwide cobalt mining in 2016". Ineptly, cobalt in this region is extracted by hand, and more often than not, using child labor, without any protective equipment according to the IER.

Image Credit: https://www.salon.com/2019/06/17/lithium-mining-for-green-electric-cars-is-leaving-a-stain-on-the-planet/

      Given all that, a viable solution to help mitigate the adverse environmental effects of lithium-ion battery production is to recycle them. As alluded to previously, lithium-ion batteries' materials production accounts for most of these environmental impacts, and "...recycled materials typically have a lower carbon footprint than the same materials from virgin sources," according to the ICCT. Not a substantial number of batteries are currently recycled due to EVs becoming popular only recently, yet if their upward trend in popularity continues, then battery recycling will become more attainable and realistic.

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