Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) deployed in battery energy storage systems (BESS) can reduce the carbon intensity of the electricity-generating sector and improve environmental sustainability. The aim of this study is to use life cycle assessment (LCA) modeling, using data from peer-reviewed literature and public and private sources, to quantify environmental impacts along the supply chain for cobalt, a crucial component in many types of LIBs. The study seeks to understand where in the life cycle stage the environmental impacts are highest, thus highlighting actions that can be taken to improve sustainability of the LIB supply chain. The system boundary for this LCA is cradle-to-gate. Impact assessment follows ReCiPe Midpoint (H) 2016. We assume a 30-year modeling period, with augmentation occurring at the end of the 3rd, 7th, and 14th years of operations, before a complete replacement in the 21st year. Three refinery locations (China, Canada, and Finland), a range of ore grades, and five battery chemistries (NMC111, NMC532, NMC622, NMC811, and NCA) are used in scenarios to better estimate their effect on the life cycle impacts. Insights from the study are that impacts along nearly all pathways increase according to an inverse power-law relationship with ore grade; refining outside of China can reduce global warming potential (GWP) by over 12%; and GWP impacts for cobalt used in NCA and other NMC battery chemistries are 63% and 45–74% lower than in NMC111, respectively. When analyzed on a single-score basis, marine and freshwater ecotoxicity are prominent. For an ore grade of 0.3%, the GWP values for the Canada route decrease at a rate of 58% to 65%, and those for Finland route decrease by 71% to 76% from the base case. Statistical analysis shows that cobalt content in the battery is the highest predictor (R² = 0.988), followed by the ore grade (R² = 0.966) and refining location (R² = 0.766), when assessed for correlation individually. The results presented here point to areas where environmental burdens of LIBs can be reduced, and thus they are helpful to policy and investment decision makers.

This comparison of five power plants in West Texas is intended to provide various decision-makers and stakeholders with a holistic picture of the life-cycle environmental impacts associated with these power plants. A key contribution of this analysis is that we assumed all power plants generate the same amount of electricity over a 30-year life, taking a 500 MW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant as a benchmark. Also, in two cases, we added battery storage to wind and solar PV facilities to render them nearly as dispatchable as the CCGT. We included the entire supply chain supporting electricity generation, which encompassed raw material sourcing, processing, manufacturing, operations, and product end of life, also called “cradle to grave”. We report on 18 environmental impacts using ReCiPe midpoint (H) impact assessment. The supply chains are global, and impacts are felt differently by host communities across the world. The results can help stakeholders identify hotspots across numerous supply chains with the highest environmental impacts. We discuss some remedial measures and challenges to inform future analysis by the research community.