by Nick Pope
Lithium-ion batteries, which are indispensable to the green energy transition, are an “unrecognized and potentially growing” source of chemical pollution, according to a fresh study published in the journal Nature.
This test sought to fill knowledge gaps on whether chemicals used in lithium-ion battery components could pose environmental hazards, a key question given that Western policymakers relying on about technology that will lend a hand to replace fossil fuel infrastructure and meet long-term emissions reduction goals. After conducting a “cradle-to-grave assessment” on the subject and collecting dozens of samples in the U.S. and Europe, the study authors “[confirmed] clean energy sector as an unrecognized and potentially growing source” of chemical pollution, and that the growing popularity of lithium-ion batteries around the world makes pollution from their waste “an issue of global concern.”
The chemicals the study focuses on are a specific type of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known as bis-perfluoroalkylsulfonimides (bis-FASIs), as well as other chemicals that manufacturers employ to build batteries. PFAS chemicals are known to be “recalcitrant pollutants, some of which are known to be mobile and toxic, but little is known about the environmental impact of bis-FASIs released during [lithium ion battery] “production, use and disposal,” the study authors wrote.
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“The disposal of lithium-ion batteries containing PFAS in landfills or recycling processes should be carefully managed to determine the risk of release into the environment,” P. Lee Ferguson, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke University and one of the study’s authors, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We hope our work will help spark more discussion about life-cycle considerations for materials used in applications such as clean energy generation and storage.”
Lithium-ion batteries are a key element of green energy systems and Electric vehicles (EVs), and are also used in devices such as cell phones, laptops, medical devices and more. With demand for these batteries set to explode in the coming decade and beyond, and just 5 percent of these batteries being recycled, the world could have up to 8 million tons of battery waste by 2040, the study estimates.
In addition, the study states, there is a “potential risk of widespread environmental release” of PFAS during lithium-ion battery production, employ, recycling, and disposal. The paper found that lithium-ion batteries—a technology that supporters claim will be responsible for reducing pollution — may not be a sure-fire ecological solution, and that policymakers and environmentalists should consider possible trade-offs.
“Developing clean and sustainable energy infrastructure and reducing water pollution are key environmental engineering efforts,” Jennifer Guelfo, an assistant professor of environmental engineering at Texas Tech University and an author of the study, told DCNF. “Currently, the research suggests that there is a conflict between the two, but we believe that this need not be the case. Scientists, engineers, policymakers and other stakeholders have the tools to assess the potential environmental risks of the compounds we use in infrastructure, and we hope this study highlights the need for such assessments.”
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Nick Pope is a reporter at the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “EV Battery” by Tennen gas.CC BY-SA 3.0.
