Life cycle assessment of high capacity molybdenum disulfide lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles

This study presents a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) on a potential next-generation lithium ion battery (LIB) with molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) anode and Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese oxide (NMC) cathode. The NMC-MoS₂ battery is configured with 49.4 kWh capacity enabling a 320 km driving range for a mid-sized EV. In this study, the MoS₂ anode synthesis is modeled based on our lab-scale experimentation and the battery design is based on the electrochemical parameters obtained from our lab results. The life cycle impact assessment is conducted using the ReCiPe method. The freshwater ecotoxicity impact is assessed through the modified USEtox™ method, based on the characterization factor of the CNT (carbon nanotubes) is derived. The obtained impact results of the NMC-MoS₂ battery are benchmarked with those of a conventional NMC-Graphite battery under the same driving distance per charge. The results show that the NMC-MoS₂ battery has higher environmental impacts in most impact categories compared to a conventional NMC-Graphite battery. Impacts on global warming potential and fossil depletion potential are 6%–7% higher while impacts in freshwater ecotoxicity, freshwater eutrophication, human toxicity, marine toxicity, marine eutrophication and terrestrial ecotoxicity are 141%–271% higher. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate the robustness and reliability of the LCA results. - Highlights: • A hybrid LCA model is developed for MoS₂ based lithium ion battery. • The inventory data are based on laboratory experiment and literature. • The toxicity of carbon nanotube release is assessed through modified USEtox method. • The impacts of MoS₂ battery are benchmarked with conventional lithium ion battery. • The LCA results indicate that environmental impacts of MoS₂ battery are higher.