It depends exactly where and how the battery is made—but when it comes to clean technologies like electric cars and solar power, even the dirtiest batteries emit less CO2 than using no battery at all.
How many battery factories are there?
In the battery sector alone, companies have announced plans to build 44 major factories with the potential to produce enough battery cells to supply more than 10 million electric vehicles per year in 2030.
The challenge: These battery factories, and the electric vehicles they equip, are going to require a lot of electricity. Producing enough battery cells to store 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity – enough for 2 to 4 miles of range in an EV – requires about 30 kWh of manufacturing energy, according to a recent study.
Is electricity the only energy source in battery manufacturing?
This study assumed electricity to be the only energy source in battery manufacturing processes, an assumption made to align with the reality in giga factories (Kurland, 2020). The European electricity mixture was used. It is estimated that producing one ton of lithium-ion requires 1,900 tons of water .
How much energy does a battery manufacturing facility use?
Dai et al (2019) estimate the energy use in battery manufacturing facilities in China with an annual manufacturing capacity of around 2 GWh c to 170 MJ (47 kWh) per kWh c, of which 140 MJ is used in the form of steam and 30 MJ as electricity. Ellingsen et al (2015) studied electricity use in a manufacturing facility over 18 months.
Here, energy usage is estimated for two large-scale battery cell factories using publicly available data. It is concluded that these facilities use around 50-65 kWh (180-230 MJ) of electricity per kWh of battery capacity, not including other steps of the supply chain, such as mining and processing of materials.
Which energy source is used in battery manufacturing?
Calculation details can be found in SM 1 and 2. This study assumed electricity to be the only energy source in battery manufacturing processes, an assumption made to align with the reality in giga factories (Kurland, 2020). The European electricity mixture was used.