- This page is about NMC-type lithium-ion batteries (nickel-manganese-cobalt). For cobalt-free lithium-based batteries, see also: LFP batteries.
Lithium-ion (or li-ion for short) is one of the most common types of rechargeable batteries used today(...)( 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(...)( 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(...)( over 20 times more li-ion batteries than have ever been produced in the history of the world(...)( calculation will be added to this page soon ) ). There will have to be other solutions.
Cobalt
Major problem
Suppose all vehicles ran on lithium-ion batteries:
ev.battery
65.2 kWh
Energy capacity of the average electric vehicle battery
commercial_factor
2
Without this, we'd be calculating for just personal vehicles. But we also need to factor in commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks. These vary widely in size, and data is hard to find, so for simplicity sake, we just assume that they'd add up to about the same as personal vehicles - thus doubling total energy storage needed. This assumption is based on the fact that freight trucks are a somewhat smaller share of
energy demand than passenger vehicles, but the trucks probably need a longer range.
li_ion.cell_voltage
3.6 volts
Voltage of a single lithium-ion cell.
https://www.cei.washington.edu/education/science-of-solar/battery-technology/
https://www.fluxpower.com/blog/what-is-the-energy-density-of-a-lithium-ion-battery
It's 3.6 volts for the "cobalt type" of lithium-ion battery. Other types might have a very slightly different voltage.
li_ion.lithium_by_energy
0.3 grams per amp hour li_ion.cell_voltage
To store a given amount of energy in lithium-ion batteries, this is how much lithium would be needed.
https://batteryguy.com/kb/knowledge-base/how-to-calculate-the-lithium-content-in-a-battery/
The article says lithium per amp hour. We convert this to lithium per watt hour (energy), by including the cell voltage.
lithium.reserves
18425000 tonnes
Lithium metal: Total global mineral reserves
https://www.statista.com/statistics/268790/countries-with-the-largest-lithium-reserves-worldwide/
Added up all the countries: 9,200,000 + 4,700,000 + 1,900,000 + 1,500,000 + 750,000 + 220,000 + 95,000 + 60,000 = 18,425,000 metric tons
li_ion.cobalt_by_energy
20 kg per 100 kilowatt hours
To store a given amount of energy, in lithium-ion batteries (cobalt type), this is how much cobalt would be needed.
https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/articles/reducing-reliance-cobalt-lithium-ion-batteries
cobalt.reserves
7.1 million tonnes
Cobalt metal: Total global mineral reserves
https://www.statista.com/statistics/264930/global-cobalt-reserves/
li_ion.cobalt_by_energy * world.cars * ev.battery * commercial_factor
% cobalt.reserves
(calculation loading)
So, besides needing far more cobalt than we could ever mine from the earth(...)( well, technically maybe we'd find more cobalt reserves, but don't count on it ), there would also be major environmental damage and child labor if we tried.
There are some efforts to reduce the amount of cobalt in the batteries, but this has its limits, as cobalt is needed for stability (i.e. preventing the batteries from bursting into flames too easily). [ELABORATION needed]
Lithium
Possible problem
Consider a similar calculation for lithium:
li_ion.lithium_by_energy * world.cars * ev.battery * commercial_factor
% lithium.reserves
(calculation loading)
At least it's viable - although there would still probably be a big environmental footprint.[QUANTIFICATION needed] We'd have to make sure that all EV batteries eventually get recycled.
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, but in total we'd probably slightly exceed global lithium reserves.
Nickel
[RESEARCH needed]
This section has not been filled in yet.
Manganese
[RESEARCH needed]
This section has not been filled in yet.
Energy in manufacturing
Not too bad
Averaged over the lifespan of the vehicle:
li_ion.rq_energy
57 kWh per kWh
Energy required to manufacture a lithium-ion battery
Factory energy only. DOES NOT include the energy involved in mining the materials.
"Based on public data on two different Li-ion battery manufacturing facilities, and adjusted results from a previous study, the most reasonable assumptions for the energy usage for manufacturing Li-ion battery cells appears to be 50–65 kWh of electricity per kWh of battery capacity."
Source:
Energy use for GWh-scale lithium-ion battery production
Institute of Physics - IOP Publishing
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2515-7620/ab5e1e
li_ion.rq_energy * ev.battery / ev.lifespan
kWh/day
(calculation loading)
Compared to how much energy you'd expect to consume by using the vehicle:
average_us_vehicle.mileage_by_time
32 miles/day
Distance driven by the average American vehicle
Top Numbers Driving America's Gasoline Demand
https://www.api.org/news-policy-and-issues/blog/2022/05/26/top-numbers-driving-americas-gasoline-demand
electric_car.efficiency
100 miles per 34.6 kWh
The "gas mileage" equivalent for an average electric car.
Average Electric Car kWh Per Mile [Results From 231 EVs]
ecocostsavings.com/average-electric-car-kwh-per-mile
Data originally from epa.gov/fueleconomy
li_ion.charge_discharge_efficiency
85%
When you charge a lithium-ion battery, this much of the energy can be recovered. The rest is lost as heat.
Range: 80 to 90 %
from wikipedia; haven't found original source yet
average_us_vehicle.mileage_by_time / electric_car.efficiency / li_ion.charge_discharge_efficiency
kWh/day
(calculation loading)
From this perspective, it seems that the energy in manufacturing the battery is reasonable enough.
Note: This doesn't include the energy involved in mining for the minerals to make the battery. (...)( In general, the rarer the mineral, the more energy it takes to mine. ) But we already saw earlier that mining (cobalt) was a problem regardless.
Similar calculations could be done for non-vehicle energy storage.
Recyclability
[RESEARCH needed]
This section has not been filled in yet.
See also