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Title: Energy and environmental impacts of electric vehicle battery production and recycling

Conference ·
OSTI ID:201715

Electric vehicle batteries use energy and generate environmental residuals when they are produced and recycled. This study estimates, for 4 selected battery types (advanced lead-acid, sodium-sulfur, nickel-cadmium, and nickel-metal hydride), the impacts of production and recycling of the materials used in electric vehicle batteries. 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.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
201715
Report Number(s):
ANL/ES/CP-87281; CONF-9510282-2; ON: DE96005262; TRN: 96:008300
Resource Relation:
Conference: Total life cycle conference and exposition, Vienna (Austria), 16-19 Oct 1995; Other Information: PBD: [1995]
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English