Lithium-ion battery end-of-life life cycle assessment

Lithium-ion batteries are a key technology in decarbonizing the transportation and electricity sectors, yet the use of critical materials, such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium, leads to environmental and social impacts. Reusing, repurposing, and recycling batteries mitigate these impacts by extending their lifespan and reducing reliance on virgin materials. Innovation that reduces demand for these problematic materials and increases battery efficiency also reduces impacts. Two examples of this technological innovation include, 1) the development of energy-dense cathode chemistry containing less cobalt, a material with high social and environmental impacts; and 2) the use of columnar silicon thin film anode, which results in increased energy density compared to the commonly used graphite anode.
This research assesses whether these technological innovations change the currently understood waste hierarchy, which prioritizes reuse or repurposing prior to recycling. This is of interest becaus..., The inventory has been sourced from EcoInvent and ReCiPe 2016 midpoint and endpoint characterization factors were used to calculate results. Ellingsen et al (2014) and Kallitsis et al. (2021) provided the battery construction and relevant inventories. ,

锂离子电池（Lithium-ion batteries）是推动交通与电力领域脱碳的核心技术，但其所使用的钴、镍、锂等关键材料（critical materials）会带来环境与社会层面的负面影响。对电池进行再利用、梯次利用与回收处理，可通过延长其使用寿命、降低对原生材料（virgin materials）的依赖来缓解上述负面影响。而能够降低上述问题材料需求并提升电池能效的技术创新，同样可减轻相关负面影响。此类技术创新的两个典型案例包括：1）研发低钴高能量密度正极化学体系——钴本身兼具较高的社会与环境负面影响；2）采用柱状硅薄膜负极（columnar silicon thin film anode），相较当前通用的石墨负极（graphite anode）可提升电池能量密度。
本研究旨在评估上述技术创新是否会改变当前公认的废物层级（waste hierarchy）——该体系将再利用与梯次利用置于回收利用之前。该研究具备重要研究价值，原因在于……；本研究的清单数据源自EcoInvent，并采用ReCiPe 2016中点与终点表征因子开展结果计算。Ellingsen等人（2014年）与Kallitsis等人（2021年）提供了电池构造与相关清单数据。