Battery powered transportation is not yet as green as it should be
While electric vehicles have proved to be better for the environment than those running on fossil fuel, their production leaves a bigger carbon footprint than making an internal combustion engine equivalent. How batteries for EVs are produced and for how long they last are decisive for making the shift to electric transport as carbon light as possible
Under pressure from the automobile industry, battery manufacturers are not only working on how to increase the energy density of their products, but on how to make them greener too
CHEMISTRY LESSONS Battery manufacturers are changing the chemistry of their products to find new combinations which are cheaper or easier to procure, while also increasing performance
COBALT BLUES Being cobalt-free or using a lot less cobalt in batteries could become a commercial advantage given the hazards of mining the substance and its history of limited supply with associated price volatility
KEY QUOTE The tantalising potential of solid-state batteries, should the technical barriers be overcome, has secured the attention of the automobile industry ...
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