Life cycle emissions of material manufacturing, use and end of life of batteries

To ensure electrification mitigates climate change, it is essential to limit life cycle GHG emissions from Li-Ion batteries. This study conducts a life cycle assessment (LCA) of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide batteries (NMC 523, 622, 811), covering raw material extraction, manufacturing, use phase, and end-of-life (EoL). The originality of this work lies in its integrated comparison of battery chemistries, combined with a high-resolution assessment of how capacity, electricity grid mix, and recycling influence total kgCO 2 e emissions, offering a wider system perspective and hence, introducing a novel framework to identify optimal battery configurations. In the manufacturing phase, cobalt-lean NMC 811 reduces the kgCO 2 e by 20% compared to other NMC's, where the cathode dominates the impact at 49%, with cobalt representing the largest share at 33%. In the use phase, for the UK grid, replacing natural gas with renewables can reduce kgCO 2 e by an order of magnitude, from 5.1 to 0.37 per 100 kWh. In the EoL phase, hydrometallurgical recycling reduces emissions by 38% relative to the pyrometallurgical method, and battery sizes for the city car segment show 33% lower emissions. Finally, the reuse of recovered cathode materials offsets up to 83% of emissions compared to virgin battery production. Hence, the optimal configuration for the lowest kgCO 2 e impact in the small vehicle segment is an NMC 811 chemistry, 40 kWh in size, manufactured from recovered materials using hydrometallurgical recycling. The significance of this work is in its methodological rigour and system-wide results, providing benchmarks for sustainable design, policy guidance, and decision-making. • LCA of NMC batteries for raw material extraction, manufacturing, use, end-of-life. • Manufacturing phase - NMC 811 lowers kgCO 2 e by 20% against other NMC's. • Use phase - Wind, nuclear, PV grid in UK reduces kgCO 2 e from 5.1 to 0.37 per 100 kWh • EoL phase - Hydrometallurgy reduces kgCO 2 e by 38% to pyrometallurgy. • Reuse phase - Use of recovered materials offsets up to 83% of emissions.