The transition to electric mobility is supposed to contribute to achieving the objective of a carbon-free economy in 2050. Batteries still need to limit their own greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible. In a study published in 2017, the Fondation pour la nature et l’homme, by Nicolas Hulot, pointed out that most of these are linked “to the energy consumed to extract, purify and transform the mineral resources used in the production of anodes and cathodes”.
Today, based on data from the Ecological Transition Agency, the profession considers that the manufacture of batteries emits around 100 kg of CO2 per kilowatt hour (kWh). For a classic sedan, the battery capacity being around 50 kWh to 60 kWh, the balance would thus be 5 tonnes or 6 tonnes of CO2. Apart from raw materials, battery factory furnaces are the most energy-intensive. The balance will therefore depend on the way in which the electricity is produced to supply them.
All operators currently building gigafactories cover their roofs with solar panels. And all of them are betting on recycling. “In Dunkirk [Nord]we will use the heat from the hot water network of a nearby steelworks and, by integrating recycled materials into our manufacturing, we expect to reduce emissions by 70%, or around 2 tonnes of carbon per battery”says Gilles Moreau, co-founder of the start-up Verkor.
For its part, the ACC group highlights the complexity of estimating the carbon footprint of batteries, cell materials and packs from different countries, using different chemical processes. Regarding the electricity required by its future gigafactory in Douvrin (Pas-de-Calais), “electrical charging and discharging during the production process factory batteries could represent up to 15% of the total manufacturing price”, believes its secretary general, Matthieu Hubert. The subject is the subject of difficult negotiations with electricity suppliers, in the context of high tariffs.
The challenge of the second life
“We know that more than 80% of the average carbon footprint of our batteries is related to the components, but also to the transport to the factories of the car manufacturers, to their use by customers, and to their recycling”, says a spokesperson for the company Saft, which specializes in the manufacture of electric accumulators. Hence the need to choose your partners carefully.
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