We introduce the notion of sustainability through discussion of the energy and environmental costs of state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries, considering elemental abundance, toxicity, synthetic methods and scalability. With the same themes in mind, we also highlight current and future electrochemical storage systems beyond lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the most common technology used in portable electronics, electric vehicles as well as aeronautical, military, and energy storage solutions. European Commission estimates the lithium batteries market to be worth ca. EUR 500 million a year in 2018 and reach EUR 3–14 billion a year in 2025.
With rechargeable capabilities and high energy density, lithium batteries use lithium ions as the main component and are long-lasting and versatile in their applications, right from portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and medical devices to personal mobility and energy storage systems (Kim et al. 2019).
Interestingly, even with this component missing in gas cars, their overall GHGs emission is over 2 times greater than EVs with ~500 km (300 miles) range. Thermal runaway is one of the most recognized safety issues for lithium-ion batteries end users.
Lithium batteries also contain lithium metal and flammable solvents, and flammable hydrogen gas can be generated when the lithium is in contact with water . Another example of lithium primary cells is the lithium-air battery that is under development; it has 5–10 times more energy density compared to standard Li-ion batteries .
Lithium-ion batteries have potential to release number of metals with varying levels of toxicity to humans. While copper, manganese and iron, for example, are considered essential to our health, cobalt, nickel and lithium are trace elements which have toxic effects if certain levels are exceeded .