ROME – Harmful emissions are also reduced with the adoption of new generation batteries. This is revealed by a new study commissioned by Transport & Environment (T&E) to Minviro, a company specializing in the analysis of the life cycles of raw materials. According to the research, the use of solid state batteries allows to significantly cut the carbon footprint of the accumulators used in electric vehicles with a drop that could reach 39%.
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The study also highlighted the potential deriving from this technology which represents the most recent evolution of traditional batteries capable, among other things, of bringing numerous overall benefits. This type of accumulators is characterized by the presence of solid electrolytes inside them to replace the liquid or polymeric gels used in the most common batteries currently used. A feature that allows you to accumulate a greater amount of energy using a reduced amount of materials, making the batteries lighter and at the same time less expensive and faster to charge. By analyzing the performance of a solid-state lithium-ion battery (model NMC-811), Minviro’s specialists found a decrease in carbon footprint of 24% compared to a traditional battery of the same category with liquid electrolytes.
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The savings obtained by improving the sustainability of the supply chain of solid-state batteries are even more substantial: by using materials with a lower impact, it is possible to reduce the carbon footprint by 39%. “Already today, electric vehicles are far better for the planet than burning oil and the carbon footprint of their batteries is constantly decreasing – explains Carlo Tritto, of T&E Italia – But solid state technology represents a turning point, because its higher energy density translates into a smaller quantity of materials, and therefore of emissions, needed to produce it. Making the process of extraction and processing of raw materials of solid state batteries cleaner will allow to drastically reduce their climatic footprint. Improving the methods used in the supply chain will be crucial.
The EU Regulation is an unmissable opportunity to ensure that every battery produced or sold in Europe uses responsibly extracted materials, has a lower carbon footprint and is recycled at the end of its life ”. Finally, it should be noted that according to manufacturers’ estimates, the use of these solid-state accumulators in electric vehicles is already foreseen starting from the second half of the decade. (by Maurilio Rigo)