Life Cycle Assessment for Manufacturing of Solid Electrolytes

As the trend toward transportation electrification grows, the demand for batteries is increasing significantly. Thus, the development of the next generation of batteries is significant, considering safety, reliability, energy density, and design improvements. Consequently, solid-state batteries have become a promising candidate. Much research has focused on finding the optimal manufacturing process for a specific type of solid electrolyte to improve its performance. However, there is no comprehensive comparison among different solid electrolytes. In this research, the life cycle assessment was applied to evaluate the environmental concerns, which can provide a fair comparison between solid electrolytes. Also, this research adopted the widely used industrial manufacturing method (tape casting) for solid electrolytes. The environmental impacts of the tape casting for six types of solid electrolytes were assessed based on the ReCiPe method using the standardized process and unified equipment. As a result, the manufacturing processes for solid electrolytes without lanthanum have lower environmental impacts than those containing lanthanum. It was found that Li6PS₅Cl (LPSCl) and Li_1.4Al_0.4Ti_1.6(PO₄)₃ (LATP) solid electrolytes are excellent choices to lower the environmental impact thanks to their environmentally friendly chemistry and manufacturing process.