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Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries: Understanding impacts from extraction to end-of-life Extraction Deployment End of Life Dr. Gabrielle Gaustad Rochester Institute of Technology

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Page 1: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries: Understanding impacts from extraction to end-of-life

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Dr. Gabrielle Gaustad Rochester Institute of Technology

Page 2: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Collaborators and Funding • Dr. Callie Babbitt, Dr. Brian Landi, RIT • Dr. Nenad Nenadic, Dr. Eric Hittinger, RIT • RIT PhD Students: Xue Wang, Kirti Richa,

Michele Bustamante, Matt Ganter, Chris Schauerman

• Dr. Elsa Olivetti, MIT Thank you!

Page 3: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Hi! I’m…. • Sustainability considerations for materials at

end-of-life – clean energy focus • Intersection of materials engineering

& systems analysis – material scarcity and criticality – recycling tech dev & assessment – environmental impacts at end-of-life

Page 5: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Critical Materials

Viebhan, et al. 2015. Ren & Sust En Rev 49, 656-671

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Critical: adjective 1. “crucial”, “indispensable, vital”, “of the highest importance” 2. “being in or approaching a state of crisis”,“of, relating to, or being a turning

point or specially important juncture”

Page 6: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

How do we measure scarcity? • Physical resource constraint

– amount & quality of resource physically determined

• Institutional inefficiency – failures by markets, firms, and governments that result

in transitory resource unavailability

Alonso, Elisa, et al. Environmental science & technology 41.19 (2007): 6649-6656. Goe, Gaustad. Applied Energy 123 (2014): 387-396.

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Page 7: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Resource restrictions for LIBs

Olivetti, Ceder, Gaustad, et.al Resource considerations for LIBs, under review at Joule.

LIB materials relatively scarce BUT new reserve, reserve base, and deposits explosive investment But combined with a supply chain lacking in diversity….

Page 8: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Resource restrictions for LIBs

Olivetti, Ceder, Gaustad, et.al Resource considerations for LIBs, under review at Joule.

Concentrated supply chain more vulnerable to disruption: -Socio-political upheaval -Labor issues -Weather -Manufacturing bottlenecks

Page 9: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Energy storage is… “green technology” “holy grail for PV & wind” “renewable energy enabler” “clean tech” …..

• But actually CO2 emissions from bulk energy storage are significant

Extraction Deployment End of Life

100 kg/MWh 200 kg/MWh 300 kg/MWh 400 kg/MWh

Hittinger and Azevedo, Bulk Energy Storage Increases US Grid Emissions, ES&T

Page 10: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Energy arbitrage – bc $ varies f(time) – buy at night, sell at day Generally, “dirty” electricity replaces “clean” electricity.

Storage is not 100% efficient – an energy-consuming device

Why?!

Image: http://greensmith.us.com/applications/peak-shifting

Coal as marginal generator

Natural gas as marginal generator

10 Extraction Deployment End of Life

Effect holds for charging from renewables as

well!

Grid Integration Key Area

Page 11: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

LIBs reaching end of life – how much??

A cumulative outflow between 0.30 million metric tons to 4 million metric tons of lithium-ion cells could be generated between 2015 to 2040.

1 6 15 23

40

3

25 60

95

140

23

110

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0255075

100125150175200225250275300325350375

2020 2025 2030 2035 2040

Mas

s of l

ithiu

m io

n ce

lls in

EV

bat

tery

was

te

stre

am (T

hous

and

Met

ric

Tons

)

Low Scenario Baseline Scenario High Scenario

Lithium, 1.4% Nickel, 2.4%

Iron, 3.3% Cobalt, 4.0%

Aluminum, 4.3%

Copper, 5.7%

Manganese, 8.8%

Steel, 22.4% Others, 23.1%

Carbon, 24.5%

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Carbon: carbon black and graphite Others: plastics, binders, electrolytes, metals

Richa, Babbitt, Gaustad, Wang (2014), A future perspective on lithium-ion battery waste flows from electric vehicles, Resources, Conservation, and Recycling. v 83, 63-76

Page 12: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Options at End of Life

Key Challenges: Uncertainty: composition, cathode, form factor Economics, Liability, Safety, Battery Management Systems, Supply-Demand Mismatch

Raw Materials

Battery Grade

Materials

ReFunctional-izeation

LIBsReUse

Cascaded Use

Recycling LandfillReMan

same applicationeg. EVs-EVs

other applicationeg. EVs-grid storage

Richa, Babbitt, Gaustad, (2017), Eco-efficiency analysis of LIB waste hierarchy inspired by the circular economy, Journal of Industrial Ecology, forthcoming.

Page 13: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Compositional variability is high

• 24 LiCoO2 18650 cells – 10 bill of materials, MSDS, lit review

– Sanyo, Panasonic, Lishen, Sony, Moli, AT&T, Matsushita

Al Co Cu Li NiSteel

Craphite

Carbon blackLiPF6EC/other

BindersPlast

ics0

2

4

6

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10

12

Mas

s (g

)

25

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125260

CV%

Total2436

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48

Mass

(g)

18.0

18.5

19.0

19.5

20.0

CV%

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Wang, Gaustad, Babbitt, Bailey, Ganter, Landi (2014), “Economic and environmental characterization of an evolving Li-ion battery waste stream,” Journal of Environmental Management, v 135, 126-134

Page 14: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Cathode chemistries evolving

0

50

100

150

200

250

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Theo

retic

al S

peci

fic C

apac

ity (A

h/kg

)

Li-SOCl2 LiSO2

LiCoO2

LiMnO2

Li-polymerLiMn2O4

LiFePO4

LiNiO2

Li(Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3)O2

LiFeS2

LiMnCoNiO2

LiNiCoAlO2

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Time

Page 15: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Economics • Contained materials vary by cathode chemistry, form factor, and size

• Compositional variability indicates uncertainties in their potential recoverable value

• Cobalt content varies a lot among different cathode types

• Low potential recoverable values for Mn-spinel and iron phosphate batteries

Table Representative composition for four selected case study cathode chemistries (by wt.%)

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Wang, Gaustad, Babbitt, Bailey, Ganter, Landi (2014), “Economic and environmental characterization of an evolving Li-ion battery waste stream,” Journal of Environmental Management, v 135, 126-134

Page 16: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Economies of Scale Revenues ($) from recycling one metric ton of LIBs for all possible mixed scenarios.

• Darker green means higher economic values; vice versa

• Larger proportion LiCoO2 cathode LIBs means higher profitability

• Theoretical threshold 21%

• Does the large proportion of less valuable LIB types mean recycling is not worthwhile?

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Wang, Gaustad, Babbitt, Richa (2014), “Economies of scale for recycling Li-ion batteries”, Resources, Conservation, and Recycling. v 83, 53-62

Page 17: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Environmental impacts Estimated embodied energy EPA CERCLA points weighted by mass

Besides Co, some other types of materials show recycling incentives: • Li needs to be targeted from an economic perspective • Al recovery needs to be improved from the energy savings perspective • Cu and Mn need to be properly recycled from the eco-toxicity perspective

Page 18: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Secondary usage of electric vehicle (EV) batteries

Reduction in EV Li-ion battery environmental impact in most cases, except in scenarios of extremely low refurbished battery lifespan or cell conversion rate Reduction in 0.3 to 69% of impact due to stationary application Only < 3% increase in CED in unfavorable cases

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Richa, Babbitt, Nenadic, Gaustad (2015), “Environmental trade-offs across cascading lithium-ion battery life cycles”, International Journal of Life-cycle Assessment

Page 19: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Secondary usage of electric vehicle (EV) batteries

PbA battery manufacturing impact >double of refurbishing a LIB pack. Due to lower efficiency of lead acid battery, use phase impacts are can be higher in lead acid battery 12% to 46% reduction in CED and GWP impacts

Extraction Deployment End of Life

Richa, Babbitt, Nenadic, Gaustad (2015), “Environmental trade-offs across cascading lithium-ion battery life cycles”, International Journal of Life-cycle Assessment

Page 20: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Looking forward • Extraction

– Supply looks stable out to 2025 but unrest in DRC, ramp-up in Li production, and dynamics of gigafactory roll-out may have an impact

• End-of-Life – Policy intervention likely needed for both reuse

and recycling routes – Lots of fundamental R&D still needed to keep up

with battery development • Pre-processing • Risks of nanoparticulate exposure, etc.

Page 21: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Gabrielle Gaustad Golisano Institute for Sustainability Rochester Institute of Technology [email protected] Summary of my research: • Quantifying the economic and environmental trade-offs for materials at their end-

of-life with a focus on recycling and resource recovery. Recent work emphasizing implications of material scarcity and criticality for clean energy technologies

Resources/Skills I can offer Resources/Skills I could use:

• Material compositional characterization (XRF, ICP-OES)

• Environmental impact assessment and material flow analysis (MFA, LCA)

• Modelling/Programming (Decision Analysis, Optimization, Simulation)

• Survey design • Mathematical epidemiology • Resource conflict • Commodity trading • Students interested in cross-disciplinary

graduate research

THANK YOU

@gggaustad

Page 22: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Motivation High cost of EV lithium-ion battery Projection of large scale EV battery waste

EV LIB reuse in stationary energy

*EV price data: David, H. (2012). Battery status and cost reduction prospects. EV everywhere grand challenge. U.S. DOE. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/ev_everywhere/5_howell_b.pdf

Potential benefits of reuse of EV LIBs: Reduce EV battery cost Delay entry of EOL LIBs in waste stream Avoiding life cycle environmental impacts of a new lead acid battery-???

EOL

Page 23: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Economies of scale for LIB recycling

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Goal: to identify the minimum amount of spent LIBs for a recycling facility to be profitable

200000150000100000500000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

Maximum Recycling Capacity (tons/yr)

Fixe

d C

osts

(,0

00 $

/yr)

US_Case 1

Italy

US_Case 2 Mexico

Canada

Page 24: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Economies of Scale

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1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500500000

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osts

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r)

Variable Costs ($/ton)

15000

30000

45000

60000

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imum

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acity

(ton

s/yr

)

Figure Minimum volumes of spent LIBs for a recycling facility to cover all expenses for different fixed and variable costs. Star refers to the base case.

• Reducing fixed or variable costs lower breakeven amount; improve profitability

• Base case assumption: 80% LiCoO2 10% LiFePO4 10% LiMn2O4

What does the co-mingled waste stream look like in the future?

Page 25: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Economies of Scale

Revenues ($) from recycling one metric ton of LIBs for all possible mixed scenarios.

• Darker green means higher economic values; vice versa

• Larger proportion LiCoO2 cathode LIBs means higher profitability

• Theoretical threshold 21%

• Does the large proportion of less valuable LIB types mean recycling is not worthwhile?

Page 26: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Current Situation Current low collection rate – an example of 2012:

10 million lbs of rechargeable batteries

20% 80%

2 million lbs of LIBs 8 million lbs of other types of rechargeable batteries 45 g/cell

6 cells/laptop

3.36 million laptops 33 million laptops

Cameras, cellphones, other products

Refs: http://www.call2recycle.org/battery-recycling-program-reports-double-digit-collections-in-2012/ Enterprise, A. (2009) Advanced Rechargeable Battery Market: Emerging Technologies and Trends Worldwide EPA (2011) Electronics Waste Management in the United States through 2009.

• Collection rate << 10%

• How many LIB recycling facilities can be satisfied?

Page 27: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Potential Issues

• Exposure to dust: carbon black? Other materials?

• Potential for exposure to nanoparticles

Recycling Energy Consumption

GHG Emission

Hazardous Wastes

NP Exposure

Pre-recycling

Pyrometallurgical

Hydrometallurgical

Page 28: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Assessment of NP exposure

Equipment: TSI’s Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) Spectrometer

• Size range: 2.5 – 1,000 nm • Particle concentration: 0-107 particles/cm3

Goal Fill research gaps in the LCI for LIBs, with a focus on end-of-life Research questions:

Understand how particle size distribution and particle concentration

• Change over time • Vary by location

Page 29: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Preliminary work

• Particle concentration changed substantially over time for ultrafine particles (<100 nm)

Scan up time = 45 secs; retrace time = 10 secs

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Battery Pack II Battery Pack KK

• The fume hood can protect workers

• Risk still remains

Page 30: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Conclusion

1) Learn different measuring metrics: environmental and economic 2) Understand the potential economic values of spent LIBs 3) Learn economies of scale for EOL LIB recycling 4) Learn nanoparticle exposure potential might exist during the EOL

processing

Four learning objectives:

• EOL LIBs have incentives to be recycled from both the economic and environmental perspectives

• Beside cobalt, other types of materials also need to be recovered at a higher level

• Collection rate of EOL LIBs should be improved • Nanoparticle exposure potential during EOL treatment of

LIBs

Page 31: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Pre-recycling Results Material segregation Sample: LiCoO2 18650 cells from Manufacturer A

>6 mm 2.5 – 6 mm 1 – 2.5 mm 0.5 – 1 mm < 0.5 mm

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(<0.5 mm )

(0.5 mm, 1 mm)

(1 mm, 2.5 mm)

(2.5 mm, 6 mm)(>6 mm)0

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100

Others Fe Al Mn Cu Ni Co

HP, Battery Pack #S

• XRF results (in wt.%)

• Purity improved

Page 32: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

Pre-recycling Results

(<0.5 mm)

(0.5 mm, 1 mm)

(1 mm, 2.5 mm)

(2.5 mm, 6 mm)(>6 mm)

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porti

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porti

on (%

)

Co-based LIBs Mixed-metal LIBs

Figure The average metallic material distribution in each size fraction for (a) cobalt-based and (b) mixed-metal cathode LIBs

The performance of this pre-recycling process vary by cathode chemistry type:

It works better on Co-based LIBs

Page 33: Life-cycles of lithium ion batteries ... - naefrontiers

(<0.5 mm)

(0.5 mm, 1 mm)

(1 mm, 2.5 mm)

(2.5 mm, 6 mm)(>6 mm)

0

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Prop

ortio

n (%

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(<0.5 mm)

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Prop

ortio

n (%

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Co-based LIBs Mixed-metal LIBs

Figure The average metallic material distribution in each size fraction for (a) cobalt-based and (b) mixed-metal cathode LIBs

(<0.5 mm)

(0.5 mm, 1 mm)

(1 mm, 2.5 mm)

(2.5 mm, 6 mm)(>6 mm)0

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tent

ial E

cono

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Val

ue (i

n %

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(<0.5 mm)

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(2.5 mm, 6 mm)(>6 mm)0

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Pote

ntia

l Eco

nom

ic V

alue

(in

%)

Figure The contribution of each type of material to the total recoverable value in each size fraction (a) LiCoO2 cathode LIBs, (b) mixed-metal LIBs

Pre-recycling Results

• Chemistry standardization

• Labeling system is highly recommended