Environmental Screening of Electrode Materials for a Rechargeable Aluminum Battery with an AlCl3/EMIMCl Electrolyte
Linda Ager-Wick Ellingsen,
Alex Holland,
Jean-Francois Drillet,
Willi Peters,
Martin Eckert,
Carlos Concepcion,
Oscar Ruiz,
Jean-François Colin,
Etienne Knipping,
Qiaoyan Pan,
Richard G. A. Wills,
Guillaume Majeau-Bettez
Affiliations
Linda Ager-Wick Ellingsen
Industrial Ecology Programme and Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Sem Sælandsvei 7, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Alex Holland
Energy Technology Group, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, University Road, Southampton SO15 1BJ, UK
Jean-Francois Drillet
DECHEMA-Forschungsinstitut, Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Willi Peters
DECHEMA-Forschungsinstitut, Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Martin Eckert
DECHEMA-Forschungsinstitut, Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25, 60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Carlos Concepcion
Torrecid SA, Partida Torreta s/n, 12110 Alcora, Spain
Oscar Ruiz
Torrecid SA, Partida Torreta s/n, 12110 Alcora, Spain
Jean-François Colin
Laboratoire des Matériaux, DEHT, LITEN, CEA, Université Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, France
Etienne Knipping
Leitat Technological Center, Carrer de la Innovació, 2 08225 Terrassa, Spain
Energy Technology Group, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, University Road, Southampton SO15 1BJ, UK
Guillaume Majeau-Bettez
Industrial Ecology Programme and Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Sem Sælandsvei 7, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Recently, rechargeable aluminum batteries have received much attention due to their low cost, easy operation, and high safety. As the research into rechargeable aluminum batteries with a room-temperature ionic liquid electrolyte is relatively new, research efforts have focused on finding suitable electrode materials. An understanding of the environmental aspects of electrode materials is essential to make informed and conscious decisions in aluminum battery development. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the relative environmental performance of electrode material candidates for rechargeable aluminum batteries with an AlCl3/EMIMCl (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) room-temperature ionic liquid electrolyte. To this end, we used a lifecycle environmental screening framework to evaluate 12 candidate electrode materials. We found that all of the studied materials are associated with one or more drawbacks and therefore do not represent a “silver bullet” for the aluminum battery. Even so, some materials appeared more promising than others did. We also found that aluminum battery technology is likely to face some of the same environmental challenges as Li-ion technology but also offers an opportunity to avoid others. The insights provided here can aid aluminum battery development in an environmentally sustainable direction.
