• Links lightweighting with battery resizing to cut EV emissions and costs • Shrink scenario reduces battery mass, cost, and GHG by ∼8% without range loss • Scenario analysis reveals trade-offs between range, cost, and sustainability • Sodium-ion lowers cost and emissions; solid-state offers high density at high cost • Downsizing batteries eases critical mineral demand and strengthens supply resilience Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are widely promoted as a pathway to decarbonize transportation, yet their large battery packs create economic, environmental, and resource challenges. This study develops an integrated modeling framework to evaluate how vehicle mass reduction through lightweighting influences battery resizing, energy demand, range, cost, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The framework incorporates standard drive cycles, vehicle dynamics, and iterative feedback between vehicle mass and pack size to capture secondary benefits of lightweighting. Building on previous studies that have already quantified the direct use‑phase energy savings from vehicle lightweighting, this work isolates the additional, secondary benefits that arise through changes in battery manufacturing and pack sizing. Scenario analysis demonstrates that downsizing the battery (Shrink scenario) reduces pack mass, cost, and emissions by roughly 8% without sacrificing range, while reallocating mass savings to larger packs (Increase scenario) extends range but with higher costs and embodied emissions. Comparisons of lithium-ion, sodium ion, and solid-state batteries further highlight trade-offs: sodium-ion offers near-term reductions in cost and emissions despite lower energy density, while solid-state batteries provide unmatched performance at prohibitive cost. Linking these findings to International Energy Agency (IEA) projections, battery downsizing emerges as a crucial strategy to narrow the widening gap between critical mineral demand and supply. The results underscore the dual role of lightweighting in improving BEV sustainability and enhancing supply chain resilience through both efficiency gains and chemistry diversification.
Moawad et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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