Introducing graphene‐enhanced technologies to the regulated market to mitigate carbon emissions

Abstract

AbstractAmbitious net zero carbon emissions goals have been set by various climate change agencies and government officials, including President Biden. One of the most prominent emissions goals aims to reach net zero carbon emissions globally by 2050. Unfortunately, the United States is not on track to achieving this goal and the United Nations has announced that several nations have fallen short of their carbon emissions agreements. Increases in global temperatures, deadly natural disasters, and species extinction have heightened the pressure facing scientists and policymakers to convince nations to stay on course to reach net zero emissions within the next few decades. Last year, the largest contributor to carbon dioxide emissions in the United States was “U.S. motor gasoline and diesel (distillate) fuel consumption” (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Frequently Asked Questions), making it clear that changes must be made in the energy sector to mitigate this. Recent innovations in the battery industry have shown exciting promise for the future of clean energy, though regulatory barriers must be overcome to fully establish these new technologies. One such technology is the graphene‐enhanced lithium‐ion battery which has five times the energy density of regular lithium‐ion batteries due to the high thermal conductivity of graphene. However, graphene is difficult to produce on a large scale, and many investors and stakeholders have hesitated to participate in the graphene supply chain due to the lack of regulation and health and safety information on graphene. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), along with other standardization organizations, has worked to understand nanomaterials like graphene over the past decade, but they seem to be behind in producing substantial data on the material's properties. Furthermore, current graphene manufacturers have varying ways of classifying and labeling graphene products, creating additional confusion in the marketplace. To accelerate the process of researching and regulating graphene, the EPA's adherence to predetermined deadlines for the creation of regulations for up‐and‐coming materials must be mandated, a standardized graphene labeling system should be adopted, universities and federal agencies should be incentivized to collaborate on research related to graphene production methods, and a mandatory “battery passport” system should be implemented to ensure the widespread availability of battery information. These recommendations are aimed at increasing trust and collaboration within the graphene industry and standardizing graphene materials to reduce ambiguity within the supply chain. By implementing these policy changes, the use of graphene‐enhanced lithium‐ion batteries in electric vehicles and grid energy storage systems can become more widespread, and allow for higher efficiency. As improvements are made to clean energy alternatives, the use of fossil fuels can be reduced, thus, decreasing overall carbon emissions.