Deutscher Titel: Nachhaltiges Ressourcenmanagement – Herausforderungen beim Antrieb von Elektroautos
Abstract
Electric vehicles are considered to be a promising alternative to conventional combustion engine based vehicles in the transition to a more sustainable individual mobility. Their broad implementation is expected to substantially contribute to a necessary reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from road transport, which are threatening Earth’s intake capacity and accelerating anthropogenic climate change.
However, the associated shift in resource requirements towards so-called special, respectively technology metals has been given reason to suspect that trade-offs could threaten the desired merits of e-mobility with regard to sustainability. This study is aimed to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of challenges that the broad implementation of e-mobility could place on the sustainable management of special metals for high voltage traction batteries.
Accordingly, general claims, targets and challenges of a sustainable resource, respectively metals management are analysed, followed by a technological review on battery technologies to determine the state-of-the-art.
Latter reveals that Lithium-Ion technology is most promising in the short- and medium term. Material development within Lithium-Ion technology is currently still highly dynamic. Among the specific positive electrode chemistries that currently show the applicable performances are lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4, LFP), lithium-nickel-cobalt manganese-oxide (LiNiCoMnO2, NMC) and the spinel prototype lithium-manganese-oxide (LiMnO4, LMO), each paired with a graphite anode (negative electrode) . Based on these three battery chemistries and two scenarios for e-mobility development, a dynamic Material Flow Analysis (MFA) is conducted to gain insights on expected lithium and cobalt flows, as well as required quantities and recycling potentials between 2014 and 2050.
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