Comparison of life cycle assessment in the fuel cell industry chain and the lithium battery industry

Abstract

Fuel cells (FCs) and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently considered the most promising energy and power sources for electric vehicles (EVs). However, there are few studies which directly compare the environmental impact, especially production with recycled raw materials between these systems. In this study, a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the two batteries was carried out in Simapro using the ReCiPe method. The study has demonstrated that in the battery manufacturing phase, the carbon emissions of FCs are 3.6 kg CO₂-eq/100 km, while that of LIBs are 3.34 kg CO₂-eq/100 km, as the catalytic layer in FCs represents a large carbon emitter. In the use phase, the green hydrogen used by FCs produces 1.31 kg CO₂-eq/100 km, which is 0.64 kg CO₂-eq/100 km more than the green electricity used by LIBs. Moreover, recycling raw materials plays a crucial role in reducing the environmental footprint for both FCs and LIBs. It has been found that the catalytic layer made of recycled platinum in FCs produced 44.2% lower carbon emissions in the manufacturing stage compared to the catalytic layer made of primary platinum. In LIBs, recycled nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), and lithium (Li) have been shown to reduce carbon emissions in the process of manufacturing the battery cathode by 13.3% when compared to primary materials. This means that FCs are more affected by recycling than LIBs, exhibiting a promising future in a sustainable circular society.