Heavy use of lithium batteries

What are lithium ion batteries used for?

They power devices such as mobile telephones, laptop computers, tablets, cameras, power tools, electric vehicles, and machinery, and are also used in large Energy Storage Systems (ESS). Lithium-ion batteries may present several health and safety hazards during manufacturing, use, emergency response, disposal, and recycling.

Are lithium-ion batteries a good source of energy?

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have become a widely adopted energy source for various electrical devices, ranging from small devices to large machines, such as cell phones, and electric vehicles (EVs). The increasing number of EVs, and other electrical devices has led to the enormous amount of discarded spent LIBs into the landfill.

Why are lithium-ion batteries a problem?

To address the rapidly growing demand for energy storage and power sources, large quantities of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been manufactured, leading to severe shortages of lithium and cobalt resources. Retired lithium-ion batteries are rich in metal, which easily causes environmental hazards and resource scarcity problems.

How accelerated industrialization is affecting lithium-ion batteries?

Accelerated industrialization of the global energy economy is inevitable, co-occurring with the escalated energy demands and intensification in environmental degeneration, ultimately leading to aggravated climate change. There is a substantial necessity to analyze battery recycling and upcycling technology while fabricating lithium-ion batteries.

Are lithium-ion batteries good for electric vehicles?

High-performance power batteries are key power sources for electric vehicles. Among these reported secondary batteries, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) stand out because of their advantages of high energy density, high specific power, low self-discharge, and long cycles [4, 5, 6, 7, 8].

Are lithium-ion batteries safe?

And recycling lithium-ion batteries is complex, and in some cases creates hazardous waste. 3 Though rare, battery fires are also a legitimate concern. “Today's lithium-ion batteries are vastly more safe than those a generation ago,” says Chiang, with fewer than one in a million battery cells and less than 0.1% of battery packs failing.