Screening for social risks of raw materials for sodium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are considered a key technology for the energy and mobility transition. But the high demand for LIBs causes an increasing demand for critical raw materials (CRMs), like lithium, cobalt, graphite and nickel. Furthermore, there are concerns that the well-established LIB technology is falling short on environmental and social expectations, pointing out issues of human exploitation, including forced- and child labour. Currently, sodium-ion battery (SIB) technology is promoted as complementary to LIBs, but based on abundant resources. While SIBs are considered a promising alternative in some applications, with potential environmental advantages in the future, little is known regarding their potential social risks and impacts. This study uses Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) methodology to explore the potential social impacts of a representative emerging SIB in comparison to LIB. The focus is on the raw material extraction phase, and the investigated impact categories include child labour, trafficking in persons, fair salary, trade union density, disability-adjusted life years (DALY) due to indoor and outdoor air and water pollution, and the contribution of the sector to economic development. ... mehrExcept for the DALY, SIBs portrayed a better potential social performance, mainly due to the absence of CRMs such as cobalt and lithium.