Energy and environmental impacts of electric vehicle battery production and recycling

摘要

Electric vehicle batteries use energy and generate environmental residuals when they are produced and recycled. This study estimates the impacts of production and recycling of materials used in electric vehicle batteries for four selected battery types (advanced lead-acid, sodium-sulfur, nickel-cadmium, and nickel-metal hydride). These impacts are compared, with special attention to the locations of the emissions. It is found that the choice among batteries for electric vehicles involves tradeoffs among impacts. For example, although the nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride batteries are similar, energy requirements for production of the cadmium electrodes may be higher than those for the metal hydride electrodes, but the latter may be more difficult to recycle.