The growing for batteries and their usage across various industries from consumer electronics to electric vehicles have led to a worrying depletion of natural resources globally. Battery materials like lithium, cobalt and graphite used in commonly found lithium-ion batteries are extracted through mining which poses considerable environmental challenges. Moreover, the supply of these raw materials is limited and their mining causes damage to the landscape and biodiversity. With battery usage projected to grow exponentially in the coming years, there is an urgent need to transition to more sustainable alternatives that can address these supply and environmental issues.
New developments in materials science
Materials scientists and engineers across the world are working on developing novel materials and manufacturing processes that can replace traditionally used Sustainable Battery Materials with more earth-abundant and eco-friendly alternatives. Researchers at MIT have been experimenting with organic and polymer-based solid-state electrolytes and anodes that do not rely on lithium, cobalt or graphite. These solid-state electrolytes enable higher energy density and enhanced safety characteristics compared to conventional liquid electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries. Stanford University researchers have discovered a lithium-ion conducting solid electrolyte made of zinc that shows promising ionic conductivity and could serve as a safe, low-cost alternative to currently used electrolytes.
Several startup companies are also making headway in this area by leveraging nanotechnology and materials design principles. A US-based company has developed a unique silicon-carbon nano composite anode material that increases lithium-ion battery capacity by over 20% while reducing graphite usage. Their technology relies on carbon derived from waste biomass rather than mined graphite, thus supporting a circular carbon economy. A Finnish company has commercialized a sodium-ion battery that replaces scarce lithium with abundant sodium and employs water-soluble polymers as the electrolyte. These sodium-ion batteries have demonstrated excellent performance and stability over hundreds of charge-discharge cycles, paving the way for large-scale stationary storage applications.
Alternative Cathode Materials
Finding suitable alternatives to cobalt for cathodes has been a major focus of battery research in recent years. While cathodes with near-zero cobalt content have been produced, their specific energy and cycling stability is still not at par with commercial lithium-ion batteries. Scientists from University of Texas at Austin created a nickel-rich layered cathode material with over 90% nickel that exhibits high capacity with no cobalt added. Extended cycling studies of these cathodes show good capacity retention characteristics. A UK-based startup has developed a unique manganese-rich inorganic cathode material that delivers higher energy density than NMC (Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt oxide) cathodes and contains no toxic or rare materials. They claim their technology could lead to cobalt-free lithium-ion batteries in the near future.
Research is also investigating alternative elements and compounds for cathodes that go beyond lithium-ion systems. One promising alternative being explored is lithium-sulfur batteries using abundant sulfur as the cathode material. These lithium-sulfur batteries can store over two times more energy than lithium-ion batteries. However, capacity fading over multiple charge-discharge cycles due to polysulfide shuttling has remained a key challenge. Scientists from Germany developed a novel hybrid organic-inorganic sulfur cathode with an integrated quasi-solid electrolyte that demonstrated excellent capacity retention of over 800 mAh/g after 400 cycles, representing a major step towards commercializing lithium-sulfur batteries.
Manufacturing sustainable batteries at scale
While laboratory-scale research continuously makes progress in materials development, bringing these new sustainable batteries to the mass requires innovations in manufacturing processes as well. Conventional battery fabrication involves energy-intensive, high-temperature processes and relies on heavy machinery, which increases carbon footprint. Several startups are taking a biomimetic, low-energy approach to battery production using tools like self-assembly at the micro and nano-scale. An MIT spinout has created a water-based manufacturing method using enzymes and bacterial nanocellulose to construct lithium-ion batteries. Their simple, ambient-temperature "bacterial biosynthesis" process consumes over 90% less energy compared to traditional protocols.
A French company has built a unique manufacturing facility that produces lithium-ion batteries using 100% renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Their automated, digitally controlled assembly lines incorporate robotics and artificial intelligence for precision assembly with near-zero waste generation. Through such innovative low-carbon production techniques and investment in renewable infrastructure to power manufacturing, upcoming generations of sustainable batteries can be mass-produced with minimal environmental load, fulfilling large worldwide.
Closing the loop with recycling
As worldwide adoption of electric vehicles and energy storage accelerates, the volumes of retired spent batteries will ramp up significantly in the coming decade posing new recycling challenges. While recycling rates of lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries are fairly high at around 95% and 70% respectively, that material is rarely recovered back to the original quality required for new battery manufacturing. Advanced recycling facilities must now be created that can break down batteries at molecular and materials levels to isolate elements like cobalt, lithium, nickel in their pure forms through hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy techniques.
Companies in Canada and Europe are establishing such large-scale lithium-ion battery recycling plants that extract valuable materials through innovative thermal, chemical and mechanical processes. Rather than conventional shredding and smelting, these facilities can separate individual battery components, treat them separately under optimized conditions and yield precursor materials for new battery fabrication with purities over 95%. Such closed-loop, high-yield recycling will be vital to establish a truly circular battery economy powered by sustainable resources. With continued R&D focus, emerging battery technologies will only become greener by design for sustainable reuse and end-of-life reprocessing.
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