A bottom-up framework to investigate environmental and techno-economic aspects of lithium-ion batteries: A case study of conventional vs. pre-lithiated lithium-ion battery cells

As per-lithiation emerges as a promising technology for the next generation of lithium-ion battery cells, aimed at enhancing energy density and cycle life, it is crucial to evaluate its technological, production cost, and environmental impacts on an industrial scale. In this study, we developed a cradle-to-gate process-based model framework using LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 (NMC811)/Graphite as a reference cell to propose industrial-scale roll-to-roll direct contact pre-lithiation method for NMC811/Prelithiated-Graphite (prGr) and NMC811/Prelithiated-Graphite-Silicon (prGrSi) cells. Our findings indicate that pre-lithiated cells exhibit a gravimetric energy density increase of approximately 11%–27% compared to the baseline of 288 Wh.kg −1 . This improvement could offset or even reduce the environmental impacts associated with the additional lithium foil component inserted into the cell during production. Economically, our analysis underscores the significant influence of lithium foil unit price, which is a critical factor in the overall cost of this technology, and a stable material market is crucial for its success. Overall, the investigation into environmental and economic aspects suggests that the prospects for industrialization and adoption are more promising than challenging in the near term.