Query: lithium ion  supply chain

title: Taming the Hydra: Funding the Lithium Ion Supply Chain in an Era of Unprecedented Volatility
abstract: The lithium ion supply chain is set to grow in both size and importance over the coming decade due to government led efforts to decarbonize economies and declining costs of lithium ion batteries used in electronics and transportation. With forecasts of demand for lithium chemicals alone forecast to grow by three times later this decade, at least $10B USD is needed to flow into the upstream supply chain to ensure an efficient and timely build out. Significant additional capital is needed for other portions of the supply chain such as other raw materials, cathode or anode production, and battery cell manufacturing. Recent exogenous shocks such as the US China trade war and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) pandemic have made securing adequate capital for the supply chain a difficult challenge. Without the steady stream of funding for new mine and chemical conversion capacity, widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) could be put at risk. This paper discusses the current structure of the lithium ion supply chain with a focus on raw material production and the need for and challenges associated with securing adequate capital in an industry that has, to date, not experienced such a robust growth profile.

title: The adoption of Internet of Things in a Circular Supply Chain framework for the recovery of WEEE: The case of Lithium ion electric vehicle battery packs.
abstract: The rapid growth in the sales of electric and electronic devices over recent decades is generating worldwide concern about the management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) New methodologies to extend the useful life of products have long been sought, accelerating the shift from a linear to a Circular Economy (CE) When products reach the End of Life (EoL) stage, the Reverse Supply Chain (RSC) is responsible for managing operations, with greater efforts being needed to improve the associated information infrastructure. In fact, this has become increasingly feasible due to the emergence of a new digital revolution led by the Internet of Things (IoT) To shed light on this matter, we propose the Circular Supply Chain (CSC) framework for EoL management aimed at satisfying the information infrastructure requirements in a particular scenario for the recovery of Electric Vehicle Battery (EVB) packs. We present a qualitative evaluation of the CSC information requirements, and the capabilities of IoT to satisfy them. As a result, a heterogeneous IoT network deployment is proposed in pursuit of a digital CSC information infrastructure.

title: Operation, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain of Lithium ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles

title: Supply risks of lithium ion battery materials: An entire supply chain estimation
abstract: Lithium ion batteries, as the essential technology for global energy transition, require the combined support of several metallic resources and the complicated supply chains that follow. The risk of supply disruptions to these resources has been widely observed and measured. However, system boundaries of previous studies were conventionally limited to the mine stage. Possible supply risks inherent in the downstream processing stages were not adequately taken into account. To fill this gap, we generalize the idea of supply risk to the whole supply chain to describe the comprehensive threats for the steady consumption of lithium ion batteries. Based on such concept, this study assesses the risks of the lithium ion battery related materials in the three major stages of the entire supply chain: mining, refining and manufacturing. Results indicate that lithium and cobalt are the most critical materials for lithium ion battery industry. Risks hidden in the downstream stages of nickel and manganese should also not be overlooked. We further argue that for important energy related materials with complicated supply chains, the risks should be identified and safeguarded comprehensively throughout the entire supply chain. Such work calls for further database establishment and analysis.

title: Assessment of social sustainability hotspots in the supply chain of lithium ion batteries
abstract: Lithium ion batteries are considered a key component in mobile and stationary energy storage applications. However, the current technology is based on several critical materials, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite, which are associated with various environmental and social impacts in their supply chain. While the environmental impacts of lithium ion batteries have been investigated in numerous studies, little attention has been given to the potential social impacts. Therefore, an assessment of the social sustainability hotspots of lithium ion batteries is carried out. The assessment is based on a spatially differentiated resource flow model of the supply chain. Data on social risks with respect to child labor, corruption, occupational toxics and hazards, and poverty are extracted from the Social Hotspots Database in openLCA. The results of the social assessment are discussed along with environmental and economic considerations to generate recommendations for improving supply chain sustainability.

title: Life cycle environmental and economic assessment of electric vehicle lithium ion batteries using different recycling methods in a closed loop supply chain
abstract: With growing adoption of the electric vehicles and their lithium ion batteries (LIBs) increasing urgency has arisen in searching for an environmentally friendly and commercially profitable LIB recycling process, and closed loop recycling has been proved more applicably promising than open loop recycling as for less virgin material demand. Therefore, this paper addresses environmental influence (carbon emissions and water consumption) and economic impact in closed loop supply chain. Life cycle model and process based cost model are employed to quantify differences among three recycling methods (pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical and direct physical recycling processes) for LIBs in aspect of five cathode technologies: three types of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NCM111, NCM622 and NCM811) lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) Considering the deficiencies of existing studies, we assess the life cycle environmental impact of LIBs at not only the national level but also the provincial level due to the provincial electricity mix disparity in China. Results demonstrates that direct physical recycling process (DPRP) has the lower environmental burdens and higher economic feasibility over the other methods, excluding LFP cells in which mitigated carbon emissions and higher economic viability are observed but meanwhile direct recycling process water consumption increases. Surprisingly, the majority of high emission provinces that have relatively higher proportion of thermoelectricity are classified as low water consumption areas. Other contradictory outcome also indicates that the three objectives (carbon emission reduction, water consumption reduction and economic development) may not meet simultaneously, which appeals for further comprehensive research on these policy making related indicators.

title: Lithium Ion Battery Supply Chain Considerations: Analysis of Potential Bottlenecks in Critical Metals
abstract: Sustained growth in lithium ion battery (LIB) demand within the transportation sector (and the electricity sector) motivates detailed investigations of whether future raw materials supply will reconcile with resulting material requirements for these batteries. We track the metal content associated with compounds used in LIBs. We find that most of the key constituents, including manganese, nickel, and natural graphite, have sufficient supply to meet the anticipated increase in demand for LIBs. There may be challenges in rapidly scaling the use of materials associated with lithium and cobalt in the short term. Due to long battery lifetimes and multiple end uses, recycling is unlikely to provide significant short term supply. There are risks associated with the geopolitical concentrations of these elements, particularly for cobalt. The lessons revealed in this work can be relevant to other industries in which the rapid growth of a materials dependent technology disrupts the global supply of those materials.

title: Supply Chain of Raw Materials Used in the Manufacturing of Light Duty Vehicle Lithium Ion Batteries

title: Lithium Ion Battery Supply Chain:Enabling National Electric Vehicle and Renewables Targets
abstract: Energy storage will play an important role in the Government of India's efforts to meet the ambitious targets with regards to electric mobility and renewable energy. Among the different types of storage technologies, lithium ion battery (LIB) is considered to be the best suited for electric vehicles (EVs) LIBs can also address intermittency problems in renewable energy integration with the grid. It is estimated that 13.8 GWh of battery capacity is required by 2020 for the EV sector and 15 GWh battery capacity is needed for grid storage requirements. Indigenization of LIB manufacturing can help to meet this large scale demand. Moreover, indigenization has the potential to bring down the cost of a battery. One of the key components in manufacturing LIBs is lithium (as raw material) which needs to be imported as India does not have sufficient reserves. Therefore it is important to estimate the total amount of lithium required for fulfilling the domestic demand. To set up indigenous manufacturing facilities, it is important to identify the key players in the global supply chain of the LIB industry and formulate policies that enable the success of this industry in India. This study presents a review of a complete supply chain related to manufacturing LIBs, along with policy instruments to support the domestic battery demand and supply ecosystem.

title: Mapping of Inbound Flows in Supply Chain of Lithium ion Industry in Indonesia
abstract: The demand for lithium battery is currently high from the consumer side due to the widespread application of lithiumion battery for electronics (laptops, notebooks, mobile phones, street lighting) and electric vehicles (electric cars and electric motors) In Indonesia, the research and industrialization on lithium ion battery have been conducted to develop products such as for electric vehicles and street lighting. On the other hand, the relationship between suppliers, producers, distribution channels, and consumers has not been mapped. This mapping is intended to provide an overview of the strength of suppliers, involved manufacturers, and to determine the readiness of the value chain of lithium ion battery to perform mass production. The approach in the mapping uses primary data and secondary data for the initial stage of inbound flows in supply chain of lithium ion industry in Indonesia. Primary data are obtained from the questionnaires, which adopted from the value chain lithium ion battery research in USA adjusted for Indonesian context. Meanwhile, the secondary data derived from literature reviews. The respondents in the study are 11 institutions consisting of manufacturers and R&D of lithium ion battery in Indonesia. The results obtained are supplier mapping that provides the flow of lithium ion battery, cell, module, and pack as well as the producers and consumers. The results could also be utilized to identify the valuable metrics in the supply chain of lithium battery industry.