The Priceless Value of LCA in the Circular Economy and its Influence in the Battery Industry

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Date & Time

December 5, 2023; 09h00 - 11h00 CET

Speakers

• Aitor Picatoste Iñurrieta (Mondragon Unibertsitatea; LIBERTY Project)
• Violeta Vargas (Eurecat; MARBELL Project)
• Victor José Ferreira (IREC; HELIOS Project)
• Hye Chowdhury (Technovative Solutions; ALBATROSS Project)

Description

This webinar highlights the role of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and sustainability in driving innovation in the battery and electric vehicle industry. Experts will discuss how adopting circular economy principles and sustainable design can lead to a more circular transition to electromobility. The webinar will cover the environmental impacts of battery and vehicle production, usage, and end-of-life, emphasizing the importance of sustainable practices from the start. Opportunities to minimize these impacts through material selection, eco-design at all stages, recyclable battery design, and second-life applications will be explored. The webinar will also address the waste-to-resource aspect and the role of circularity in life cycle assessment, supporting European battery waste regulations. Participants will gain insights into fostering sustainability across the battery value chain and applying life cycle assessment in their organizations.

Recordings

Key messages

During the webinar, the participants discussed various aspects of lifecycle assessment (LCA) and its integration with eco-design and circular economy principles in the context of electric vehicle (EV) battery projects. The meeting covered four main projects: Liberty, Marble, Helios, and Albatross.

• Aitor Picatoste Iñurrieta from the Liberty project shared insights on the importance of considering second life and recycling in LCA. The project aims to design a novel EV battery with improved sustainability, targeting at least a 20% reduction in environmental impact compared to a benchmark battery. The project also explores the impact of second life scenarios on sustainability metrics, such as global warming potential (GWP) and abiotic depletion potential (ADP), and the importance of considering logistics in regulations.
• Violeta Vargas from the Marble project discussed the integration of eco-design and LCA to identify environmental hotspots and develop strategies to reduce the environmental impact of battery packs. The project uses a four-step methodology to identify hotspots, develop strategies, adapt them to technical requirements, and design specific actions. The LCA considers the entire life cycle of the battery, including second life and end-of-life scenarios, with functional units based on kilometers travelled and kilowatt-hours of energy provided.
• Victor Ferreira from the Helios project presented on the role of recycling in LCA and its impact on the battery industry. The project focuses on developing a new hydrometallurgical process for recycling batteries and integrating LCA to assess the environmental impact of these processes. The LCA model includes considerations for the circular economy and aligns with new battery regulations.
• Hye Chowdhury from the Albatross project shared the approach to conducting cradle-to-grave LCA for an advanced lightweight battery system. The project aims to reduce weight, charging time, and increase driving range and peak energy density. The LCA covers the construction phase, use phase, and end-of-life, with functional units reflecting energy delivered and kilometers traveled.

Throughout the meeting, the participants discussed the challenges of incorporating circular economy indicators into LCA impact categories, the importance of iterative LCA processes in technology development, and the difficulties in addressing critical raw material scarcity within LCA models. They also debated the most appropriate functional unit for LCA in battery projects, considering the goals of the study and the context of the electric vehicle.

Q&A

1. Aitor from the Liberty Project discussed the impact of new EU regulations on electric vehicle batteries and the project's aim to design a battery with improved sustainability. He presented a lifecycle management study comparing scenarios with and without a second life for batteries. The study found significant potential for impact reduction through second-life applications, but noted that current circularity metrics may not fully capture these benefits. Future steps include further analysis and alignment with EU regulations.
2. Violeta from the Marble Project emphasized the integration of eco-design and lifecycle assessment (LCA) to identify environmental hotspots and develop impact reduction plans for battery packs. She outlined a four-step methodology used in the project and stressed the importance of iterative LCA application throughout the design process to accommodate evolving technologies and sustainability goals.
3. Victor from the Helios project presented on the role of recycling in LCA and its impact on the battery industry. He discussed the exploration of new recycling processes and the integration of LCA in end-of-life management, highlighting the project's efforts to align with new EU battery regulations and the digital battery passport.
4. Hye from the Albatross project shared insights into the LCA of advanced lightweight battery systems for electric vehicles, focusing on the construction phase and the use of the Impact World+ methodology. The project aims to compile comprehensive data across all lifecycle stages to compare with current state-of-the-art results.
5. The panel discussed the importance of including circular economy indicators in LCA impact categories, with Aitor suggesting that while LCA provides robust data, circularity metrics are also crucial for managing sustainability effectively.
6. Violeta and Victor discussed the challenges of incorporating critical raw material scarcity into LCA models, noting that while current methodologies like abiotic depletion do not fully address criticality, there are other indexes and approaches that can complement LCA.
7. The panel debated the appropriate functional unit for LCA in battery projects, with Violeta advocating for a unit that reflects the battery's efficiency and its context within an electric vehicle, while Victor proposed considering the "throw out" energy to account for battery efficiency.

Presentations

Download slide deck of the session