Design for the Environment Program
Office of Research and Development
Lithium-ion Batteries and Nanotechnology Partnership
Assessing Life-Cycle Impacts
of Lithium-ion Batteries
•s.
U.S. EPA
What Is EPA's Design for the
Environment Program?
EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE)
Program is a voluntary, partnership-based
program that works with industry to integrate
health and environmental considerations into
business decisions. DfE's approach typically
focuses on evaluating the health and
environmental risks or life-cycle impacts of
traditional and alternative technologies,
materials, and processes. Since its inception,
DfE has formed cooperative partnerships
with the electronics industry, including:
• Assessing the life-cycle impacts of lead
solder and lead-free alternatives, and
• Evaluating new and current materials
that can be used to meet fire safety
requirements for circuit boards.
DfE partnerships have also conducted life-
cycle assessments of cathode-ray tube and
flat-panel displays, and wire and cable
insulation and jacketing, and evaluated
alternative lead-free surface finishes and
cleaner technologies for making holes
conductive step in printed circuit board (or
printed wiring board) manufacturing. Read
information on safer chemical-intensive (e.g.,
cleaning) products that bear the DfE logo.
(Link to epa.gov/dfe.)
What Is EPA's Office of Research
and Development?
EPA's Office of Research and Development,
the scientific research arm of EPA, conducts
research on ways to prevent pollution,
protect human health, and reduce risk. Work
at ORD laboratories, research centers, and
offices across the country helps improve the
quality of air, water, soil, and the way we use
resources. (Link to epa.gov/ord.)
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What Are the Partnership's Goals?
EPA's Design for the Environment Program and the
Office of Research and Development formed the
Lithium-ion Batteries and Nanotechnology Partnership
in June 2009 to conduct a screening-level life-cycle
assessment (LCA) of current and emerging energy
systems used in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in
hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and electric vehicles (EVs). The
energy systems of interest include currently manufactured lithium-ion
(Li-ion) battery technologies and a next-generation battery component
(anode) that uses single-wall carbon nanotube technology. The primary
goal of the partnership is to help companies make environmentally sound
process and material choices.
When completed, it is expected that the life-cycle assessment results can
be used by the Li-ion battery industry to identify the materials or
processes within a product's life cycle that are likely to pose the greatest
impacts or potential risks to public health or the environment. In
addition, given the use of nanotechnology in current and future Li-ion
battery products, the LCA will also promote nanotechnology innovations
in advanced batteries that result in reduced overall environmental
impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions.
The project partners include individual Li-ion battery manufacturers,
research institutions, battery recycling companies, the Department of
Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, and EPA. The current list of
partners include Altairnano, Inc., Electrovaya, EnerDel Lithium Power
Systems, Johnson Controls-SAFT, Novolyte Technologies, Kinsbursky
Brothers, Inc., Rochester Institute of Technology, Rechargeable Battery
Association, NextEnergy, National Alliance for Advanced Transportation
Batteries (NAATBatt), Umicore Group, and Environmental Defense
Fund.
The partnership is evaluating the following energy product systems:
• High-power density Li-ion batteries currently manufactured by
our partners for HEV and PHEV applications;
• High-energy density Li-ion batteries currently manufactured by
our partners for EV and PHEV applications; and
• Single-wall carbon nanotube anode technology for use in next-
generation Li-ion batteries.
February 2010
EPA 744-F09-001
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High-energy density batteries deliver moderate amounts
of energy over a long period of time (i.e. sustained
energy), which is important for long-distance for EV and
PHEV applications. High-power density batteries deliver
large amounts of energy over a short period of time (i.e.
energy bursts), which is necessary for quick accelerations
for HEV and PHEV applications. The partnership may
also compare the impacts during the "use stage" of
energy systems that use Li-ion batteries in electric
vehicles with those of lead-acid batteries in gasoline
vehicles, on a functional unit basis (impacts per
kilometer). The life-cycle assessment study is being
conducted with the assistance of Abt Associates Inc.,
under contract with EPA.
What Is Life-Cycle Assessment?
This project will examine the full life cycle of the
energy systems and estimate environmental impacts
from each of the following major life-cycle stages:
• Raw materials extraction/acquisition;
• Materials processing;
• Product manufacture;
• Product use; and
• Final disposition/end-of-life.
There are four major phases of an LCA study, as
described in the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) 14040 standard:
• Goal definition and scoping;
. Life-cycle inventory;
. Life-cycle impact assessment; and
• Interpretation of results.
In the first phase of the study, the goals and scope are
defined by the project partners, including which
products and technologies are to be evaluated. Next,
life-cycle inventories (LCIs) are compiled for all
processes within the life-cycle stages contained within
the LCA scope. Following completion of the LCIs, the
environmental life-cycle impacts of the products/
technologies are objectively assessed, using the LCI
data. Finally, the results are summarized and analyzed,
with a discussion of limitations and uncertainties.
Why Is the Partnership Evaluating Li-ion
Batteries?
The production and use of hybrid and electric vehicles
are necessary to alleviate the United States' dependence
on oil, and to prevent future climate change - two key
priorities of the Obama Administration. To address these
priorities, the Administration has established a near-term
goal of 1 million electric drive vehicles on the road by
2015, including HEVs, PHEVs, and EVs. Li-ion battery
technologies will be critical to meeting this goal, due to
EPA 744-F09-001
their increased energy storage capability, which will
increase electric vehicle marketability.
This project will also highlight a nanotechnology
application that has the potential to reduce
environmental impacts. Although some nanomaterials
and technologies are already being used in Li-ion
batteries, further and novel uses of nanomaterials may
increase the storage capacity and life of these batteries.
For example, battery anodes made from single-wall
carbon nanotubes are being developed and are included
in this study. These anodes show promise for increased
current capacity, extended electric vehicle range and
battery life, and reduced recharge cycle time.
A quantitative environmental life-cycle analysis of Li-
ion batteries used in electric drive vehicles—and the
nanomaterials and nanotechnology used to produce
some of them—has not yet been conducted. Such a
study is needed to help grow the industry for advanced-
vehicle batteries in an environmentally responsible and
efficient way.
This project offers the opportunity to mitigate current
and future impacts and risks by:
• Assisting battery manufacturers and suppliers to
identify which materials and /or processes are
associated with the greatest environmental
impacts throughout the life cycle of their
products, and
• Identifying areas that could benefit from
increased energy efficiency.
The project also is timely, given that the use of Li-ion
batteries for electric vehicles is an emerging technology
and that recent government programs are encouraging
the growth of the industry in the United States.
The LCA will provide useful information to the
advanced-automotive battery industry, and particularly
to the Li-ion battery industry for electric vehicles. The
partnership's study will provide the industry with an
objective analysis that evaluates the potential life-cycle
environmental impacts of selected Li-ion battery
systems, and help determine whether these systems
present environmentally preferable options to existing
systems, such as the use of lead-acid batteries in internal
combustion engines.
How Can I Get More Information?
To learn more about the DfE Program or the Lithium-ion
Batteries and Nanotechnology Partnership, or to view an
electronic version (or order a hard copy) of this fact sheet
(document #EPA 744-F-09-001), visit the Office of
Pollution Prevention and Toxics' DfE Program Web site:
epa.gov/dfe
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