Reducing the carbon footprint of lithium-ion batteries, what’s next?

This commentary provides insights on present and future trends concerning the carbon footprint (CF) of liquid-electrolyte lithium-ion batteries (LIB). While the focus of the battery industry and policymakers was previously on reducing the cost of LIB and their usage reducing CO2 emissions through e-mobility and the integration of more renewables into the energy mix, there is now an increasing focus on reducing the CF of LIB themselves. The production of LIB is highly material- and energy-intensive, resulting in high embedded CO2 emissions. Efforts to reduce the CF of LIB require strong interaction between battery producers, users, and policymakers. Policymakers are instrumental in shaping and regulating the market, while the battery industry can leverage low CF batteries as a unique selling proposition. We categorize current and future CF trends according to the three stakeholder groups, and for the battery industry stakeholder group, we further distinguish between high-level, product, and process trends.