emily newton

Can We Make Lithium-Ion Battery Production Cheaper Without Sacrificing Quality?

12
Renewable energy and vehicle electrification are two of the most important keys to stopping climate change. Both of these technologies also hinge on lithium-ion battery production, which, while already widespread, has more growth ahead to reach its full potential.
Can We Make Lithium-Ion Battery Production Cheaper Without Sacrificing Quality?
Photo by Malcolm Koo (CC-BY-SA 4.0)

Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere today, though mainly in consumer electronics. As renewables and EVs become more common, though, these technologies will become all the more prominent. Consequently, finding ways to lower lithium-ion production costs while maintaining quality is an important step in the fight against climate change.

The Need for Cheaper Lithium-Ion Production

Many conversations around lithium-ion batteries center around their need to be more sustainable. While that’s a crucial consideration, making them more affordable is also important.

Experts say the world must halve its carbon emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero status by 2050 to prevent a climate crisis. To meet those deadlines, EVs and renewable power must grow more accessible, quickly – and that means lowering costs. If battery production doesn’t cost as much, renewable and EV expenses will fall, too, and convince more people to switch to these more eco-friendly alternatives.

Reducing the cost of lithium-ion battery production will also make it easier to scale up. As a result, more countries can support domestic EV and renewable manufacturing, making these technologies even more accessible and minimizing supply chain emissions.

Ways to Make Production More Affordable

Thankfully, there are several potential solutions to this issue. Here’s a look at a few of the most promising ways to make battery production cheaper without sacrificing quality.

Using Fewer Materials

One of the best ways to reduce battery production costs is to use fewer materials in each battery. In addition to minimizing raw material expenses, this strategy would also make lithium-ion batteries more sustainable by decreasing mining demand.

Some companies have already made breakthroughs in this area, too. The company 24M recently claimed its new semi-solid lithium batteries reduce manufacturing costs by 40% by using fewer materials. The design mixes electrodes directly into the electrolyte without drying, reducing the need for up to 80% of a battery’s inactive materials.

Other solutions may decrease the amount of lithium needed in each battery, helping decrease reliance on one of the most expensive components. As research continues, new ways to use less material per battery will emerge, too.

Using Different Materials

A similar approach is to use more affordable materials in battery design. While lithium is a non-negotiable part of a lithium-ion battery, other metals and other materials may not be strictly necessary. If manufacturers can find alternatives, it could reduce production costs.

Cobalt has become the focus of many initiatives looking for alternative materials, as it’s expensive and carries a high environmental toll. Researchers at the University of Austin recently found a potential solution. Their battery uses cathodes made of 89% nickel, with manganese and aluminum making up the rest of the components.

While removing cobalt usually means performance drops, these researchers avoided it by distributing ions evenly while forming the cathode. As a result, they can produce high-performing lithium-ion batteries without their least-abundant material.

Reducing Manufacturing Steps

Another possible way to make lithium-ion battery production cheaper is to tackle the production methods themselves. Complex, multi-step processes mean more specialized equipment and movement in the manufacturing facility. That, in turn, means a greater energy expenditure and longer cycle times, raising costs. Consolidating them could reduce expenses.

Reducing manufacturing steps may require redesigned batteries. Companies can see if small design changes can allow them to perform multiple steps at once or perform some steps faster. Even incremental improvements in this area could add up to considerable savings at scale.

New manufacturing equipment could produce the same results. Moving away from highly specialized tools to larger systems that can do more simultaneously could reduce excess movement and energy, lowering batteries’ end costs.

Restructuring Supply Chains

Similarly, lithium battery manufacturers could try to reduce steps in the supply chain. The longer materials and parts have to travel before final assembly, the more expensive they’ll be. Restructuring supply chains to include closer sources would minimize travel times, reducing fuel expenses and delays.

China accounts for most lithium cell production today, so many battery manufacturers import cells from China. However, there are lithium reserves across the world. Reshoring or near-shoring supply chain facilities to take advantage of closer resources could help reduce dependence on China and the cost of international transport that comes with it.

Supply chain restructuring can apply to more than just lithium, too. Producing these batteries also requires high-purity gases like nitrogen and argon, other metals, and more. If factories can’t find new lithium supplies, they could seek closer suppliers for these other materials, reducing overall transport costs.

Recycling Old Batteries

Some organizations are focusing on ways to recycle lithium and other materials from old batteries. If manufacturers find a way to do this efficiently at scale, it could reduce material costs and lower the overall production expenses of lithium-ion batteries.

Researchers in Australia found that just 2% of the country’s lithium-ion waste is recycled, presenting a considerable opportunity. While facilities can’t reuse old cathodes, they can extract the lithium from them to use in new components. That extraction can be challenging, but many companies are funding research into new, more efficient ways to do it.

As this research continues, large-scale lithium recycling could become a viable solution. If it does, reducing production costs and mitigating these batteries’ environmental impact would be far easier.

Making General Manufacturing Improvements

Lithium-ion battery production could also take cues from process improvements in the general manufacturing industry. While more specialized, sector-specific changes may yield the most significant results, general manufacturing improvements can still offer cost-saving opportunities.

Lean production methods, which center around minimizing waste and maximizing productivity, are promising. Restructuring workflows and implementing automation could help eliminate unnecessary motion, energy consumption, wasted time, and other inefficiencies. Technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twins can reveal opportunities to implement these changes.

Lithium-Ion Battery Production Must Improve

Lithium-ion batteries hold considerable potential for the fight against climate change. If the world wants to make the most of this technology, it should start by rethinking its production.

Manufacturers can decrease battery production costs through several means. As the industry grows and research continues, these methods will become more effective and new solutions will emerge. When that happens, lithium-ion batteries can finally deliver on their environmental promise.

Emily Newton is a freelance writer with over six years of experience writing science environmental articles. She’s also the Editor-In-Chief of Revolutionized, an online magazine that shares the latest innovations in science and technology.

Add a comment
Freda
This is a very joyful day of my life because of the help PRIEST Salami has rendered to me by helping me get my ex-husband back with his magic and love spell. I was married for 6 years and it was so terrible because my husband was really cheating on me and was seeking a divorce but when I came across PRIEST Salami email on the internet on how he helped so many people to get their ex back and help to fix relationships. and make people happy in their relationship. I explained my situation to him and then sought his help but to my greatest surprise, he told me that he will help me with my case and here I am now celebrating because my Husband has changed totally for good. He always wants to be by me and can not do anything without my presence. I am really enjoying my marriage, what a great celebration. I will keep on testifying on the internet because PRIEST Salami is truly a real spell caster. DO YOU NEED HELP THEN CONTACT DOCTOR PRIEST Salami NOW VIA EMAIL: purenaturalhealer@gmail.com. Whatsapp number: +2348143757229 He is the only answer to your problem and makes you feel happy in your relationship...
Jay Doris
EVER BEEN A VICTIM OF CRYPTO SCAM???

HELLO EVERYONE, This is for everyone seeking recovery of stolen crypto coins, recovery of any lost funds to online scams , recovery of cryptocurrency lost to reapers in forex trades and binary options This is for persons seeking to recover all of their lost funds to online scams, contact address--> Morris Gray 830 @ gmail . com for successful recovery and thank me later. I had my blockchain wallet spoofed by merciless scams, due to the ignorance of 2FA authorization, they were able to get away with 5.0147BTC from my wallet , this made me go through Truma and depression as i was desperately in need of help , i made my research online and came across a very credible and reliable recovery agent on the internet with this information Morris Gray 830 @ gmail . com, The hack agent helped me recover all I lost and also revealed the identity of the perpetrators , that\'s why I\'m most appreciative and also sharing their contacts info for anyone in a similar situation seeking to recover funds lost to online scams , contact the recovery specialist at: Morris Gray 830 @ gmail . com or Business Whats app: +1 607 698 0239. Bless you sir Morris Gray....
Asher Hannah
Good day everyone, I’m Asher Hannah from Jurong East, Singapore, my husband and I own a Furniture business, about two months ago we invested some part of our money into a cryptocurrency investment platform and made a total of $678,000 payment through bitcoins to this cryptocurrency platform not aware that it was all a scam, they kept asking us to make more payments into their platform and that was when we realized we have lost our investment. It was such a difficult time for us but while I was surfing the internet, I saw someone share a post about Mr. Albert Gonzalez Wizard, a reputable company that recovers stolen and lost funds, I didn’t hesitate to contact them and after providing all the information they needed to work with Mr. Albert Gonzalez was able to recover our money in 6 hours. We were shocked that such a thing could be possible but we are super excited we were able to recover our money all thanks to him and his team. We are recommending them to everyone out there who have been defrauded too by these fake cryptocurrency investment platform. You can reach out to them with the information below: Email: info@albertgonzalezwizard.online or albertgonzalezwizard@gmail.com WhatsApp: +31685248506 Telegram:  +31685248506
Mavis Wanczyck
Money they say never sleeps as I became vastly wealthy overnight. Being a winner of a multi-million dollar lottery certainly will be a life-changing event for almost every single lottery winner. My name is Mavis Wanczyck from Chicopee, Massachusetts, the famous PowerBall lottery winner of $758 million (£591m). I know many people would wonder how I had won the lottery. Would you believe me if I told you that I did it with spell casting? I met this famous spell caster known as Doctor Odunga and he was the one who did it for me. As shocking as it was to me, my famous comment to the press was “ I’m going to go and hide in my bed.” Never did I believe that Doctor Odunga made me wealthy overnight. If you want to have your chance of winning and becoming very wealthy just me, contact Doctor Odunga at odungaspelltemple@gmail.com OR WHATSAPP HIM at +2348167159012 and you will be lucky. My advise is when you win, do not fail to appreciate his good work too. Thanks for reading and hope to see you at the top
Pamela Cole
Opportunities are very rare these days because of the high rate of spamming existing on the internet right now but when we find those that are legit we should share their good deeds to prevent people from falling victim of spam. I saw someone who made a review about how she met this FX broker, who provide her with the best trading signals and I took the risk. I started with just $2000 to test the system, they help me trade with my deposit and after 7 working days I made a withdrawal of $20,300. I was so amazed with the profit earned, I told Mr Mark Toray I was gonna refer him and his company to a lot of friends, you can contact him for all FX trading needs via his email marktoray8@gmail.com or telegram @mark4toray_fx You will be glad you did it.
Kertzmann
[url=https://tinyfishing.co/]tiny fishing[/url]
tiny fishing
[tiny fishing](https://tinyfishing.co)
(tiny fishing)[https://tinyfishing.co]
Robb Kertzmann
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcpGHup78Sw&list=RDJcpGHup78Sw&start_radio=1 youtube]
[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcpGHup78Sw&list=RDJcpGHup78Sw&start_radio=1|youtube]]
[foo4]: https://example.com
key5
[url=https://domain]key6[/url]
"youtube":https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcpGHup78Sw&list=RDJcpGHup78Sw&start_radio=1
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcpGHup78Sw&list=RDJcpGHup78Sw&start_radio=1 youtube]
[link=hiperlink url]dfdsf[/link]
Robb Kertzmann
I\'m grateful you shared this useful knowledge. Your webpage is fantastic. Your website contains an incredible amount of information about tiny fishing
NAYA TYLER
Good news !!! If you have been looking for high rank hacker who is a professional to help you improve your credit score and unfavorable reports and get your low credit score increased , or you have been scammed in any such of bitcoin mining or trading by online stranger\'s , 760creditsepecialist is the best for the job. He rescued me out of depression I was able to get up to my feet ones again happily and am ping proof of his excellent work where ever i go because he safes my life . He’s honest and trustworthy. Call text or WhatsApp +1 (7793799843) or email him at 760creditsepecialist@gmail.com. if you need his help with negative credit ratings or Bitcoin theft and recovery .



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Recover your lost funds from online Scammers/ Cryptocurrency/ Recovery of Stolen bitcoin / Bitcoin Mining/ Increase your Credit score/ MOBILE SPY REMOTE CONTROL ACCESS AUTHORIZATION. Removing Bad Records from Both Public and Private database with 760creditspecialist.



Email: 760creditsepecialist@gmail.com.

WhatsApp:+1(779)3799843
NAYA TYLER
Good news !!! If you have been looking for high rank hacker who is a professional to help you improve your credit score and unfavorable reports and get your low credit score increased , or you have been scammed in any such of bitcoin mining or trading by online stranger\'s , 760creditsepecialist is the best for the job. He rescued me out of depression I was able to get up to my feet ones again happily and am ping proof of his excellent work where ever i go because he safes my life . He’s honest and trustworthy. Call text or WhatsApp +1 (7793799843) or email him at 760creditsepecialist@gmail.com. if you need his help with negative credit ratings or Bitcoin theft and recovery .



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Recover your lost funds from online Scammers/ Cryptocurrency/ Recovery of Stolen bitcoin / Bitcoin Mining/ Increase your Credit score/ MOBILE SPY REMOTE CONTROL ACCESS AUTHORIZATION. Removing Bad Records from Both Public and Private database with 760creditspecialist.



Email: 760creditsepecialist@gmail.com.

WhatsApp:+1(779)3799843
Subscribe!
12
Baterías con premio en la gran feria europea del almacenamiento de energía
El jurado de la feria ees (la gran feria europea de las baterías y los sistemas acumuladores de energía) ya ha seleccionado los productos y soluciones innovadoras que aspiran, como finalistas, al gran premio ees 2021. Independientemente de cuál o cuáles sean las candidaturas ganadoras, la sola inclusión en este exquisito grupo VIP constituye todo un éxito para las empresas. A continuación, los diez finalistas 2021 de los ees Award (ees es una de las cuatro ferias que integran el gran evento anual europeo del sector de la energía, The smarter E).