<aside> đź“Ś Meet our investment in this space: Infyos

</aside>

This page offers a small snapshot of the many intricacies of battery supply chains. It only presents information related to procuring and processing virgin raw materials and manufacturing new batteries.

TL;DR

Why do we need batteries?

A global transition to clean technology and renewable energy will only be possible with adequate energy storage. Battery-supplied energy storage is critical to a fossil-free future, as it enables us to power electric vehicles and store and transfer the electricity generated by renewables to the grid.

Individual homes can use batteries to replace diesel-powered generators for power backup and store the electricity generated by rooftop solar panels. New smart batteries even allow homeowners to purchase electricity when it is cheap and green and use it when it isn’t, which also reduces pressure on the grid.

On the scale of electrical grids, batteries can help ensure the phase-out of coal-fired power plants that until now have been necessary to ensure steady electricity supplies. The UK government has estimated that the flexibility offered by grid-scale batteries could even save up to ÂŁ40 billion by 2050, and they are investing heavily in these facilities.

Impact of batteries

Emissions from the production of EV batteries range from 56 to 494 kg CO2 per kWh of battery capacity, that’s more than half of the carbon footprint of the entire vehicle. About half of those emissions come from extracting, processing, and refining the raw materials.

80% of battery component production happens in China, but the materials for those components come from all around the world. The materials that go into an EV battery will travel 20,000-30,000 miles (up to 50,000 miles) before they end up in a vehicle.

Source: McKinsey & Company, 2023

Source: McKinsey & Company, 2023

Materials and production

The average EV battery contains about 185 kg of minerals, with the cathode containing the widest variety (about 31% of the entire mineral weight). NMC is the most common EV battery. It is a lithium-ion battery using nickel, manganese, and cobalt in the cathode.