Abstract
The sustainability of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) is strongly influenced by the environmental and economic performance of their active materials, particularly at early development stages. However, comparative assessments of multiple synthesis pathways under harmonized pilot-scale conditions remain limited. In this study, three Na 0.7 MnO 2 cathode synthesis routes (solid-state, sol–gel, and hydrothermal) and three biomass-derived hard carbon anode production pathways (walnut shell via thermal treatment, corn straw via hydrothermal processing, and pomelo peel via chemical activation and carbonization) were assessed within a cradle-to-gate framework. Laboratory-scale data were upscaled to a pilot-scale production scenario (100 kg day −1 ) using a process-based scaling approach. Environmental impacts were quantified using the ReCiPe 2016 midpoint (H) method, while economic performance was evaluated through Commodity Life Cycle Costing (C-LCC) coupled with Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis.,The results reveal that process configuration and energy intensity dominate sustainability performance, outweighing the influence of raw material origin. Among cathode production routes, the solid-state method showed the lowest global warming potential (7.3 kg CO 2 -eq kg −1 ) and median C-LCC (3.5 € kg −1 ), whereas the hydrothermal route exhibited significantly higher burdens (211.5 kg CO 2 -eq kg −1 ; 124.2 € kg −1 ). For anode materials, pomelo peel–derived hard carbon presented the most favorable environmental and economic profile (57.6 kg CO 2 -eq kg −1 ; 11.2 € kg −1 ), while corn straw–based production was strongly driven by electricity demand.,These findings identify energy and auxiliary material intensity as key drivers of sustainability and provide guidance for material and process selection in emerging sodium-ion battery technologies.