1

Practicality and Environmental Impacts of Electric Vehicle Batteries

Introduction
Batteries have been a growing industry and field of study for many engineers and scientists in the
past 70 years. Only recently has it been deemed normal that a computer can run without needing
to be constantly plugged into the wall, or that a car can run entirely off of electricity. The ability
to harness electricity wherever and whenever you want is a very powerful idea. This paper will
address the history of batteries, how a battery works, the contents of batteries, the sustainability
of electric car batteries, and the environmental impacts of the production of these batteries. For
reference, I will be using the 2014 Tesla Model S as my standard model for electric car batteries,
as I believe Tesla is the leading innovator in electric car batteries and will soon represent the
standard in electric cars.
History of the Battery
One of mans greatest feats was creating a way to store electricity for future use. As early as
2000 ago in ancient Iran, the people of Parthian period had created a battery, called the Parthian
Battery; consisting of a clay jar filled with vinegar, a copper cylinder
inside the vinegar, and an iron rod inside the copper. The device
created 1.1-2 volts of electricity (Battery University). Many scientists
do not accept that the Parthian Battery was in fact used as a battery,
but rather as a method for electroplating, when a thin layer of a
precious metal is added onto a layer of common metal. Regardless of
whether or not the Parthian Battery was actually used as a battery or
for electroplating, electricity was being harnessed in order to preform
work.
The Modern Battery

Parthian Battery (Battery University)

The batteries of today are massively more effective and portable than the batteries of the ancient
world. Unfortunately these early batteries were not well documented, and it was not until the
1700s that battery development was well documented (Battery University). Some dates with
landmark battery innovations are listed below.

1802: William Cruickshank creates the first battery capable of mass production
1839: William Robert Grove invents the hydrogen fuel cell
1859: Gaston Plant invents the lead acid battery
1899: Waldmar Jungner invents the nickel-cadmium battery
1901: Thomas Edison creates the nickel-iron battery
1947: Georg Neumann successfully seals the nickel-cadmium battery
1949: Lew Urry invents the alkaline-manganese battery
1991: The company Sony commercializes the lithium-ion battery
1996: Moli Energy introduces the Lithium-ion battery with manganese cathode

The public did not have easy access to batteries until after Georg Neumann created a completely
air tight battery in 1947. From that point on the advances in battery technology have been largely
attributed to advancements in the cathode and anode materials. The most energy dense material
used in most modern day batteries is a lithium-ion. These lithium-ion batteries are used in many
everyday appliances. Some appliances that use these batteries include:

Laptops
Watches
Cell Phones
Toys
Electric Cars

How a Lithium-ion Battery Works

How a Lithium-ion Battery Works (Blog Spot)

To fully understand how a Lithium-ion

Figure 1
battery works, the first step is to understand
the lithium atom. The lithium atom is the
third lightest atom in the periodic table and
contains three electrons when at a neutral
state. All atoms prefer to have a filled outer
shell of electrons; these electrons are called
valence electrons. The first outer shell only
requires two electrons to fill and is called the
S orbital, but the second outer shell takes 8
electrons to fill and is called the P orbital. A
neutral lithium atom contains three electrons,
which means that in order for the atom to be
satisfied it can either gain seven electrons to
fill its P orbital or it can lose an electron and make the S orbital the outermost orbital with two
electrons. Because gaining seven electrons takes significantly more energy than losing a single
electron, lithium always chooses to lose an electron creating a positive lithium-ion (keep in mind
electrons have a negative charge). In an actual battery cell the lithium anode and manganese
cathode are separated by an electrolyte solution and a separator that does not allow electrons to
pass through (see figure 2). When a circuit connects the lithium to the manganese the electrons
begin flowing out of the lithium anode because the lithium-ions attempt to create a full outer
shell, meanwhile manganese wants extra electrons in order to fill its outer electron shell. When
the circuit is connected electrons leave the lithium anode and move to the manganese cathode.
This loss of electrons creates lithium-ions which become attracted to the now negative
manganese cathode and travel through the electrolyte fluid where lithium-ions meet up with the
negative manganese. Once no more lithium-ions can fit into the manganese, the battery has
discharged. In disposable batteries this is the point where it becomes useless. Once the reactants
can no longer react, the battery is depleted regardless of the materials used (MIT School of
Engineering).
Contents of Batteries

Neither the lithium anode nor the manganese cathode are pure substances. Having a battery with
only pure substances would make batteries highly unstable and dangerous. This means that both
the manganese and lithium are more complex molecules, for example many common lithium-ion
batteries use layered oxides containing cobalt and nickel for the (The Minerals, Metals, and
Materials Society). The full list of contents in most lithium-ion batteries are as follows (not
including the casing materials):

Cobalt
Nickel
Manganese
Lithium
Graphite
Silicon
Polymer electrolytes

This list is for lithium-ion batteries that use a cobalt compound for the cathode. As mentioned
previously, much of battery advancements have been in material studies and implications.
Unfortunately, the materials of modern batteries do pose issues. Several of these materials have
limited availability in nature and are toxic, specifically cobalt (The Minerals, Metals, and
Materials Society). It is also important to note that the structure of the materials creates a huge
impact upon the effectiveness of the battery. When creating a manganese cathode it is important
to create nano-pores in the material so that the lithium-ions can interact with the manganese
more fully. If the cathode is not porous then the surface area of which the lithium-ions may
attach to is limited to the side of the cathode. With pores though, the surface area becomes
greatly increased. Think of the cathode like a sponge that is trying to absorb lithium-ions, a
sponge with no holes would not be able to pick up much water just as a cathode with no pores
would only be able to attract a small amount of lithium-ions. Excessive heat can cause the
materials in the battery, specifically the cathode, to deform over time (Martha et al.). This heat
deformation is responsible for decreasing performance ability in batteries.
Energy Density of Batteries
Energy density refers to the ratio of charge to materials. Larger energy density means that the
battery outputs more energy for the same amount of material by mass. For electric cars, a battery
with high energy density means that the car can travel longer before it needs to be recharged. A
gasoline powered car with a 15 gallon tank that gets 25 miles per gallon can travel a total
distance of 375 miles before it hits empty. Currently, the Tesla Model S can travel 265 miles
before it needs to be recharged (US EPA). For some context, I can take a fully charged Model S
and drive from Milwaukee to Chicago, Back to Milwaukee, and still have a third of a tank left.
265 miles is a fair range for short to medium length trips, but for current electric cars to be able
to travel as far as traditional gasoline powered cars the energy density of the lithium-ion batteries
need to see about a 40% increase in energy density (assuming no more lithium is to be used in
the batteries). The following are several ideas that show promise for increased energy density:
Solid State Electrolyte
In an excellent energy seminar given by Ann Marie Sastry of Stanford University, the future of
battery technology is thoroughly discussed. Sastry talks about the asymptotical nature of the

lithium-ion battery energy density. She believes that current lithium-ion batteries with liquid
electrolyte will not see a greater than 20% increase in energy density. Sastry then moves on to
talk about solid state electrolytes as an alternative to liquid electrolytes. The core idea behind
solid state electrolyte batteries is that the solid state electrolyte allows for a low resistance when
transporting ions, but has a high resistance for electron transportation. This combination allows
for extremely low internal battery resistance, resulting in high energy density, while minimizing
unwanted self-discharge. The total increase of energy density using solid state electrolytes has
not been widely implemented, but current prototypes offer promising hope for the future.
Metal-Air Hybrid
Metal-Air Hybrid Battery Pack (Green Transportation)

In 2013 Tesla applied for a Metal-Air

hybrid battery pack. The general idea of
the hybrid battery is to combine a
lithium-ion battery with a metal-air
battery. Metal air-batteries use metal as
their anode, such as aluminum, beryllium,
or, calcium, and use the surrounding air
as a cathode. Essentially, metal-air
batteries harness the energy given off via
oxidation. The metal-air battery has a
substantially higher energy density than
the lithium-ion batteries, but is unable to
Figure 3
discharge quickly enough to accelerate a
car at a reasonable rate (Herron). Thus the idea behind the patent is that when high discharge is
required from the battery, such as when the car accelerates, the lithium-ion battery will provide
the required energy, but when the discharge required is low, such as sustained highway driving,
the metal-air battery will become the primary battery used. This switching of primary batteries
will be controlled by a computer that analyzes the energy demands and determines the load each
battery will provide respectively.
New Materials
Most of battery improvements have resided in the implementation of new materials for the anode
and cathode. The list provided earlier in The History of Batteries offers an adequate example of
the different materials that have advanced the energy density and practicality of batteries. New
materials with unique properties offer different energy density possibilities.

Resource Availability
The sustainability the electric car batteries is directly related to the amount of resources available
to produce batteries as well as the efficiency of the mining process. Of the materials previously
listed, the following are the three scarcest resources represented in parts per million (ppm)
(Morgan):

Cobalt 840 ppm

Manganese 750 ppm
Lithium 1.85 ppm

It is important to note that these ppm numbers represent the total ratio for the entire Earth,
including the crust, oceans, and atmosphere. With this being said, the ppm of these substances in
the Earths crust is marginally higher. Lithium in particular contains between 20 and 70 ppm in
the Earths crust (Eason). The Tesla Model S battery contains roughly 2.4 kg of lithium (this is a
low estimate), which is significantly more material by mass than any of the other required
materials to create a battery. In addition, the ppm of lithium is significantly lower than even the
next two rarest elements required to make these batteries. Naturally, this makes lithium the
limiting material. Meaning that once all of the Earths lithium reserves have been used up, the
creation of lithium-ion batteries will not be possible.
Total Lithium Reserves
Lithium was initially created within the big bang along with helium and hydrogen. The universe
contains extremely large amounts of hydrogen and helium, but the amount of lithium in the
universe is small by comparison. This is largely due to the relatively low temperature
requirement to destroy lithium atoms; paired with a lack of natural creation processes. This is the
cause for only 1.85 ppm of lithium on Earth. At 1.85 ppm the total amount of lithium reserves in
the Earth total to 2.55 1010 kg (Eason). With 2.55 1010 kg of lithium in the Earth at 2.4 kg of
lithium per car battery, Tesla could create 4.1 billion Model Ss. In 2014, roughly 34 million
consumer cars were produced. If 34 million Tesla Model Ss were to be produced every year,
Tesla could produce cars for 120 years, keep in mind car technology itself is roughly about 120
years old. 120 years of sustained production initially sounds like a promising number, but upon
further inspection issues arise.
Lithium Production and Consumption

Uses of Lithium (Geology)

Collectively, all of humanity produces about 2

Figure 2
107 kg of lithium per year; enough to make
8.3 million Model Ss every year. Current
production methods, primarily brines and hard
rock mining, only allow for about 25% of the
required production level needed to create
electric cars in a realistic, competitive car
market. In order to manufacture cars at a
realistic rate, current mining techniques need
to see about a 400% increase in efficiency. To
make matters worse, only about 27% of
lithium is used in the production of batteries
(USGS). At current lithium distribution percentages, the total number of Model Ss that can be
made amount to 1.11 billion. At 34 million cars per year, this production is sustainable for only
32 years. 32 years is not a comforting number to look at, and so several solutions must be
devised and implemented in order to solve this short lived electric battery sustainability.
Maximizing Efficiency

First and foremost, a large amount of lithium is dedicated to the creation of ceramics and glass.
These ceramics and glass are designed to resist huge changes in temperature while still
maintaining structural integrity. However, there are alternative materials that may be used in the
creation of these ceramics. There is a long list of alternative materials that can be used to create
ceramics that can withstand huge temperature differences. Some examples include:

Zirconium boride
Hafnium boride
Hafnium carbide
Hafnium nitride

Hafnium and Zirconium are both relatively scarce elements, with Hafnium having 230 ppb (parts
per billion) in all the Earth, and Zirconium containing 7.2 ppm (Morgan). Keep in mind that the
ppm/ppb of each element is significantly higher when only taking samples of the Earths crust. If
the ceramics industry could forgo using lithium in their ceramics and instead using this lithium
for electric car batteries, the sustainability of battery production could be increased to roughly 65
years. Besides a redistribution of mined lithium, another solution to increasing the sustainability
of electric car batteries resides in the ability to recycle the battery materials. Tesla claims that
they can recycle up to 60% of the essential materials needed to manufacture batteries. This 60%
recycling rate would further extend the sustainability of battery production approximately 140
years.
Environmental Impacts
One of the most prominent concerns for the mass production of electric vehicles is the adverse
environmental impacts of battery production. Two of the largest concerns are the effects of
mining the required materials and the method for which power is created in order to produce the
batteries.
Mining
Cobalt, the resource used in the battery cathode, is toxic if handled incorrectly. Cobalt is not
found in its pure form in nature; instead it is always found chemicaly bonded to other elements
and requires a chemical process in order to extract the cobalt. This is very similar to how rare
earth metals are found and extracted. In China, where 85% of rare earth metals are produced,
there have been cases of improper lining of rare earth mines, resulting in the contamination of
the local drinking water. The contamination caused the local crops to wither, the farm animals to
die, and the cancer rate to rise substantially (Kaiman). Cobalt, like these rare earth metals, is
toxic to the environment as well as to humans. Tesla has announced that once their giga-factory
opens they will be only using locally sourced materials in their batteries. This decision to use
only locally sourced materials means that, if the mining process is handled incorrectly, people
living in North America may be subject to the adverse effects of cobalt contamination. As seen
with the fracking industry in America, where there have been several cases of water
contamination due to fracking, it can be difficult to get large corporations to implement all of the
necessary actions to prevent contamination. However, if the mining operations are handled
ethically and follow all of the necessary safety guidelines, there should not be an environmental
impact on the mining of cobalt.

Power Production
Electric cars are only as clean as the method used to produce the batteries and charge the
batteries. That is to say if the battery factory is powered by a coal power plant then the battery
production itself is harmful to the environment. A similar idea applies to the recharging of
batteries. If my house is powered by a coal power plant, then the energy being used to charge the
battery is harmful to the environment. Teslas giga-factory will be a net zero factory. This means
that all of the power the factory will use will be generated on site via solar and wind power. In
fact the giga-factory may even produce excess power (Clean Technica). Tesla provides a good
model for future factories to follow, but only time will tell if other companies will decide to take
the clean energy route. As for recharging the batteries, the degree to which your power used to
recharge the battery is ecofriendly relies on the power companies and the government. Sweden
has shown that clean energy is a viable possibility to powering entire countries. According to
Swedens official website, 48% of their power is generated with renewable energy. If the rest of
the world follows this example, then battery technology will take a huge leap forward in
becoming more environmentally friendly.
Conclusion
Electric car batteries have many issues that still need to be thoroughly worked out. Energy
density, resource availability, and the environmental impacts of battery production all pose their
own unique problems, but each issue has possible solutions. Energy density can be increased
effectively, improved recycling of lithium can prolong the sustainability of lithium-ion battery
production, and safe mining methods can minimize environmental impacts. Hopefully, in the
near future, electric cars will take the place of gasoline powered cars. However, if electric cars
cannot overcome the issues that battery limitations pose, the car still must change. The massive
amount of greenhouse gasses that gasoline cars pump into the atmosphere every year has already
helped usher in the beginnings of an artificial mass extinction (live science). Even if the decaying
environment does not force the extinction of the petroleum powered car, the limited oil supply
will. In about 40 years the worlds oil supply will become critically low, and all of the cars that
run off of oil products will become obsolete (Institution of Mechanical Engineers). A car that is
sustainable and environmentally friendly is in dire need, and right now electric cars are the best
solution.

Works Cited
Ann Marie Sastry | Energy Seminar - March 31, 2014. Dir. Ann M. Sastry. Perf. Ann Marie
Sastry. Stanford University, 2014.

"BU-101: When Was the Battery Invented?" Information on the Invention of the Battery. N.p.,
26 Jan. 2015. Web. 08 Feb. 2015.
Claus, Daniel. "Materials and Processing for Lithium-ion Batteries." Materials and Processing
for Lithium-ion Batteries. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.
DeMorro, Christopher. "Tesla Gigafactory Could Produce 20% More Electricity Than It Needs."
Clean Technica. N.p., 10 Sept. 2014. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
Eason, Eric. World Lithium Supply. Stanford. N.p., 30 Nov. 2010. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
"Energy Use in Sweden." Sweden.se. N.p., 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.
Geggel, By Laura. "Earth May Be in Early Days of 6th Mass Extinction." LiveScience.
TechMedia Network, 28 July 2014. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.
Herron, David. "Tesla Motors' Hybrid Battery Pack System for Extended Range." Tesla Motors'
Hybrid Battery Pack System for Extended Range. N.p., 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 09 Feb.
2015.
How a Lithium-ion Battery Works. Digital image. Blog Spot. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
Kaiman, Jonathan. "Rare Earth Mining in China: The Bleak Social and Environmental Costs."
Theguardian. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
Kelty, Kurt. "Blog." Mythbusters Part 3: Recycling Our Non-Toxic Battery Packs. N.p., 11 Mar.
2008. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.
Martha, Markevich, Burgel, Salitra, Zinigrad, Markovsky, Sclar, Pramovich, Heik, Aurbach,
Exnar, Buqa, Drezen, Semrau, Schmidt, Kovacheva, and Saliyski. A Short Review on
Surface Chemical Aspects of Li Batteries: A Key for a Good Performance. Science
Direct. N.p., 1 Apr. 2009. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.

Metal-Air Hybrid Battery Pack. Digital image. Green Transportation. N.p., 28 June 2014. Web.
9 Feb. 2015.
"MIT School of Engineering." How Does a Battery Work? N.p., 21 May 2012. Web. 09 Feb.
2015.
Morgan, John W., and Edward Anders. "Chemical Composition of Earth, Venus, and Mercury."
(1980): n. pag. Print.
Parthian Battery. Digital image. Battery University. N.p., 26 Jan. 2015. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
"Production Statistics | OICA." OICA. N.p., 2014. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.
Uses of Lithium. Digital image. Geology. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
"Welcome to the USGS - U.S. Geological Survey." Welcome to the USGS - U.S. Geological
Survey. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.
"When Will Oil Run Out?" When Will Oil Run Out? N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.