Introduction Within the field of energy storage technologies, lithium-based battery energy storage systems play a vital role as they offer high flexibility in sizing and corresponding technology characteristics (high efficiency, long service life, high energy density) making them ideal for storing local renewable energy.
Lithium ion batteries, which are typically used in EVs, are difficult to recycle and require huge amounts of energy and water to extract. Companies are frantically looking for more sustainable alternatives that can help power the world's transition to green energy.
Not only are lithium-ion batteries widely used for consumer electronics and electric vehicles, but they also account for over 80% of the more than 190 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery energy storage deployed globally through 2023.
"Recycling a lithium-ion battery consumes more energy and resources than producing a new battery, explaining why only a small amount of lithium-ion batteries are recycled," says Aqsa Nazir, a postdoctoral research scholar at Florida International University's battery research laboratory.
Applications of solid-state lithium batteries. The primary categories of large-scale energy storage technologies encompass pumped storage, electrochemical energy storage, flywheel energy storage, and compressed air energy storage, among others.
The review highlighted the high capacity and high power characteristics of Li-ion batteries makes them highly relevant for use in large-scale energy storage systems to store intermittent renewable energy harvested from sources like solar and wind and for use in electric vehicles to replace polluting internal combustion engine vehicles.