Life Cycle Analysis of LiCoO2/ Graphite Batteries with Cooling using Combined Electrochemical-Thermal Modeling

Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a powerful method for assessing the net environmental impacts of a product, as well as improving the design or use of the product to minimize these impacts. Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in small-scale portable electronics including cellular phones and tablets, most often without the benefit of thermal regulation to improve performance or extend the battery cycle life. This work explores the potential benefits of active cooling on lithium-ion battery life cycle environmental impacts (resource extraction, manufacturing and use phases) using a streamlined LCA approach that couples first principles electrochemical modeling and dynamical systems modeling with traditional battery life cycle assessment methodology. Six impact categories–global warming potential, energy use, PM2.5, PM10, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides–are evaluated for lithium cobalt oxide-graphite (LCO-C) batteries in a cellular phone design with and without active cooling. Active cooling of LCO-C batteries provides substantial benefits when coupled with cell designs employing thicker electrodes. The results indicate that active cooling using a simple fan design and 55.4 µm cathode thickness can reduce environmental impacts by 5% to >30% depending on battery discharge rate and ambient temperature. With 75 µm cathode thickness and 3C discharge rate, nearly 45% reduction in environmental impacts is predicted with active cooling across all impact categories. Life cycle environmental impacts are reduced as active cooling helps maintain a high battery cycle life even with high fractions of active components in the battery.