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The Role of Cycle Life on the Environmental Impact of Li 6.4 La 3 Zr 1.4 Ta 0.6 O 12 based Solid‐State Batteries
Author(s) -
Smith Lucy,
IbnMohammed Taofeeq,
Astudillo Dolores,
Brown Solomon,
Reaney Ian M.,
Koh S. C. Lenny
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced sustainable systems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.499
H-Index - 24
ISSN - 2366-7486
DOI - 10.1002/adsu.202000241
Subject(s) - life cycle assessment , environmental impact assessment , battery (electricity) , environmental science , global warming potential , lithium (medication) , environmental effect , electrolyte , materials science , chemistry , production (economics) , greenhouse gas , thermodynamics , physics , medicine , ecology , power (physics) , macroeconomics , electrode , economics , biology , endocrinology
This study compares the environmental impacts of a lithium‐ion battery (LiB), utilizing a lithium iron phosphate cathode, with a solid‐state battery (SSB) based on a Li 6.4 La 3 Zr 1.4 Ta 0.6 O 12 garnet‐structured electrolyte. It uses a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA), according to two functional units, delivery of 50 MJ of electrical energy and kg of battery, to expand the system boundary. The results of the process LCA indicate that the environmental impact of LiBs is lower than SSBs across most environmental impact categories. Conversely, the input–output upstream global warming potential (GWP) of the LiBs, calculated by hybrid LCA, is higher than that of the SSBs. Sensitivity analysis shows that the SSB cycle life must increase from 100 to 2800 to achieve a GWP impact lower than that of LiBs and therefore outperform LiBs in this environmental impact category. The study, therefore, demonstrates that research into SSBs must be accelerated to achieve a functional and safe battery technology with a reduced impact on the environment.