Life cycle assessment of lithium oxygen battery for electric vehicles

Abstract

In this analysis, a Li–O2 battery system with a 63.5 kWh capacity is configured to sustain a middle-sized electric vehicle (EV) according to the modified Battery Performance and Cost (BatPaC) model. The life cycle impacts of the Li–O2 battery system for the EV application are evaluated by developing a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) model. The conventional lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide (NMC) cathode plus the graphite anode are modeled as the reference lithium-ion battery (NMC-G LIB) system to benchmark the life cycle environmental impact results of the Li–O2 battery system. The comparison results reveal that the Li–O2 battery system has a lower life cycle environmental burdens compared to the conventional NMC-G battery thanks to the avoidance of such heavy metals as manganese, nickel, and cobalt in the positive electrode materials and lower energy consumption during the battery production process, thus resulting in lower environmental impacts. Notably, the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of the Li–O2 battery system are 149 g CO2, eq km−1, representing a 9.5% decrease from that of the NMC-G battery. The Li–O2 battery, therefore, can be an environmentally sustainable battery technology to replace conventional NMC-G battery for next-generation EV applications in the future.