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Lithium-ion batteries: Difference between revisions
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[[Category:Energy storage]] | |||
:{{light|<small>''This page is about NMC-type lithium-ion batteries (nickel-manganese-cobalt). For cobalt-free lithium-based batteries, see also: [[LFP batteries]].''</small>}} | |||
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Lithium-ion batteries are some of the most commonly used batteries today. But are they a good solution to the [[energy storage]] problem? Short answer: no. | Lithium-ion batteries are some of the most commonly used batteries today. But are they a good solution to the [[energy storage]] problem? Short answer: no. | ||
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'''Lithium-ion''' (or li-ion for short) is one of the most common types of rechargeable '''batteries''' used today{{x|they're popular because they can hold more charge than most other rechargeable batteries can}} - found in everything from phones to tablets to [[electric vehicles]]. But when it comes to large-scale [[energy storage]]{{x|which ''includes'' scaling up EVs. The only reason why today's EVs ''can'' use li-ion is because they're such a small fraction of vehicles on the road so far.}} - the kind needed for green [[energy]] to solve [[climate change]] - li-ion batteries '''''can't''''' be produced in the insanely massive amount that would be needed{{x|over 20 times more li-ion batteries than have ever been produced in the history of the world{{x|calculation will be added to this page soon}} }}. There will [[the great battery challenge|have to]] be other solutions. | |||
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TODO: Add calculation comparing "world.cars*ev.battery" with some sorta integral of the data i found on global li-ion battery production over the years (gotta find the link again) | |||
TALK: Should I uncomment the tab system above that offers short vs regular intro length? | |||
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{{considerations}} | |||
== | ==Cobalt== | ||
{ | {{sum|Major problem|bad}} | ||
|Major problem | |||
|} | |||
Suppose all vehicles ran on lithium-ion batteries: | Suppose all vehicles ran on lithium-ion batteries: | ||
{{dp | {{dp | ||
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So, besides needing '''far more''' cobalt than we could ever mine from the earth{{x|well, technically maybe we'd find more cobalt reserves, but don't count on it}}, there would also be major environmental damage and [[cobalt#child labor|child labor]] if we tried. | So, besides needing '''far more''' cobalt than we could ever mine from the earth{{x|well, technically maybe we'd find more cobalt reserves, but don't count on it}}, there would also be major environmental damage and [[cobalt#child labor|child labor]] if we tried. | ||
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TODO: | TODO: make multiple tabs for more calculations: cobalt resources (instead of reserves), and cobalt resources if we strip-mined the ocean floor (not recommended; write that) | ||
TALK: | TALK: is commercial_factor even accurate? is [world.cars] already covering all passenger-owned road vehicles (inc. bigger ones) and [ev.battery] already is an average affected by large vehicles too? (tho maybe not as large as some of the gas cars on the market) And so then the only road vehicles [world.cars] doesn't include are buses and freight trucks? well even so, maybe [commercial_factor=2] is still reasonable bc of the huge disproportionate amount of batteries would be needed for an electric semi truck, since its range has to be much longer than most electric cars? anyway idk what to do with this musing, or how/whether to work it in somewhere in [commercial_factor]'s description? | ||
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<!-- <small>This problem could maybe be overcome by solving [[lithium-ion/challenge 1]].</small> | |||
(i commented this out bc im not sure if it's even a thing) | |||
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==Lithium== | |||
{{sum|Possible problem}} | |||
== | |||
Consider a similar calculation for lithium: | Consider a similar calculation for lithium: | ||
{{calc | {{calc | ||
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Note: this still doesn't include the additional [[energy storage]] we'd need on the power grid if [[solar]] and [[wind]] were major [[energy]] sources. This is less than what's needed for vehicles,<!-- TODO: link to the page that has those calculations--> but in total we'd probably slightly exceed global lithium reserves. | Note: this still doesn't include the additional [[energy storage]] we'd need on the power grid if [[solar]] and [[wind]] were major [[energy]] sources. This is less than what's needed for vehicles,<!-- TODO: link to the page that has those calculations--> but in total we'd probably slightly exceed global lithium reserves. | ||
==Nickel== | |||
{{sum|{{rn}} }} | |||
{{empty}} | |||
==Manganese== | |||
{{sum|{{rn}} }} | |||
{{empty}} | |||
==Energy in manufacturing== | ==Energy in manufacturing== | ||
{{sum|Not ''too'' bad}} | |||
Averaged over the lifespan of the vehicle: | Averaged over the lifespan of the vehicle: | ||
{{dp | {{dp | ||
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<small>Similar calculations could be done for non-vehicle energy storage.</small><!-- TODO: add them --> | <small>Similar calculations could be done for non-vehicle energy storage.</small><!-- TODO: add them --> | ||
==Recyclability== | |||
{{sum|{{rn}} }} | |||
{{empty}} | |||
<!-- INTRO: In the earlier sections regarding minerals, the estimates were assuming that that many minerals would only have to be mined once, and after that, the batteries could be perfectly recycled into new batteries. But is that really the case? --> | |||
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* performance in winter | |||
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==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* [[Sodium-ion batteries]] - a | * [[Sodium-ion batteries]] - possibly a more scalable [[energy storage]] solution, but it isn't on the market yet.<!-- NOTE: update this if anything changes! --> | ||