US — Ars Technica
Batteries help reduce emissions, but how do we reduce their emissions?
Mobility1 min read
A new study looks at the pollution made when factories build lithium-ion batteries. Batteries help cut emissions, but making them still creates some, and that amount could grow a lot by 2050.
What the study found
Electric cars and energy storage need batteries, and the energy transition (the shift away from fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas) depends on them. A team led by Haiwei Zhou at the University of Melbourne studied the greenhouse gas emissions from making lithium-ion batteries. These emissions are small today, but they will grow as we make more batteries.
Key numbers
- Battery making produces about 0.18 percent of yearly greenhouse gas releases today.
- That share could grow by a factor of 10 or more by 2050.
- The team's estimates used projections through 2050 from International Energy Agency scenarios.
- The estimates covered batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage.
Three ways to cut battery emissions
Some metals in batteries take a lot of energy to mine and refine. Factories could also use energy more efficiently when they build batteries. Recycling can return battery materials to use and needs much less energy than mining new ones. The researchers wanted to look at a different idea: making fewer batteries in the first place, so their emissions are avoided entirely.
Why it matters
As cars and power grids get cleaner, batteries will be a bigger part of the remaining pollution. To cut emissions further, we need to look at all parts of the battery life cycle, not only the big sources. The study compares options in a future world with more batteries, more recycling and a cleaner grid, so its savings estimates are closer to what may really happen.
What to watch
- Whether battery factories cut the energy they use per battery.
- How much battery recycling grows as old batteries reach the end of their life.
- How quickly electricity grids become cleaner, since this affects battery emissions.
- Whether people choose ways to need fewer batteries overall.
Glossary
- lithium-ion batteries
- Rechargeable batteries that store energy; used in electric cars and energy storage.
- energy transition
- The shift from fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas to cleaner energy sources.
- greenhouse gas
- A gas, such as carbon dioxide, that traps heat in the air and warms the planet.
- International Energy Agency
- An organization that studies energy and publishes forecasts about future energy use.
- electric vehicles (EVs)
- Cars, trucks or buses that run on electricity stored in batteries.
- University of Melbourne
- A university in Australia where the lead researcher, Haiwei Zhou, works.