A study led by Haiwei Zhou at the University of Melbourne examines the carbon footprint of lithium-ion battery production. Currently, these emissions represent 0.18 percent of global annual greenhouse gas releases, though this figure could increase tenfold by 2050.
Researchers analyzed two approaches to emissions reduction. Improving manufacturing processes, refining techniques, and recycling could lower the carbon footprint of a single battery by 34 percent by 2050, avoiding 3.5 to 4.7 billion tons of CO2.
Strategies to lower demand offer greater potential for emission savings. Extending EV battery life to match vehicle longevity could cut demand by 29 percent. Limiting the growth of average battery capacity would reduce demand by 23 percent.
Additional demand-side measures include ride-sharing services, which could lower demand by nearly 10 percent, and repurposing used EV batteries for energy storage, contributing an 8 percent reduction.
Combined, these demand-reduction strategies could prevent 6 to 7.2 billion tons of CO2 emissions between 2024 and 2050. This impact exceeds the savings projected from supply chain improvements alone.
