Toyota Central R&D Labs., Inc. is advancing the “Battery Circulation System” research project with the goal of realizing a circular economy for automotive lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) through reuse and recycling. As part of this effort, the company has proposed a method for quantitatively evaluating carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions across the entire life cycle of LiBs.
This method enables an integrated assessment of CO₂ reduction effects achieved through reuse and recycling technologies, allowing both individual elemental technologies and the overall battery circulation system to be evaluated in a unified framework. The proposed evaluation approach is expected to provide a practical foundation for designing circular systems for LiBs and guiding the development of related elemental technologies. The results of this research were published in Elsevier’s journal, Journal of Power Sources. For the full text (in Japanese), please refer to the link above.
Key Points of the Announcement
- Proposed a life cycle assessment (LCA) method to quantitatively evaluate CO₂ emissions across the entire battery life cycle
- Enables comparison and evaluation of elemental technologies that promote battery reuse and recycling, as well as assessment of the overall system
- Contributes to the realization of a circular economy for LiBs through collaboration with universities and other research institutions
