Environmental, Sustainability Governance Strategy Overview
Volterra is positioned to bring an IP to market which once in production can help remedy many of the issues that our world faces in transitioning over to a carbon neutral future. Without Volterra’s long life battery, large scale clean energy projects in solar, wind and wave won’t be able to get off the ground as there won’t be an effective storage partner available. The same goes for the plethora of automobile manufacturers who are aggressively searching for a lightweight, high-capacity battery solution for them to compete with the large EV players like Tesla. Stationary storage for government distribution of electrical currents are currently using megawatts worth of batteries that have a lifespan of five years, whereas Volterra’s battery systems last 20+ years. These outdated batteries are not cost effective and at the end of the battery’s life have to be recycled or disposed of which is not good for the environment. In the absence of the proposed technology, public and private entities are forced to implement an aggressive recycling program, which adds in relative costs associated with selling recycled metals to secondary recycling markets.
The use of Volterra’s technology will limit the use of energy to produce as we also look to integrate renewable sources of energy in the production of the cells. This would include solar, biomass and other clean energy options. Volterra looks to be an advocate for renewable sustainability as we scale production in all applicable regions. Our competitive battery solution mitigates the consistent replacement of batteries for clean energy solutions as well as electric vehicles which in turn allows them to have a longer life span and higher efficiency rate than what’s currently available on the market.
A recent life cycle analysis of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries highlights the importance of recycling to reduce their environmental and health impacts. The study, examined a range of battery chemistries including:
• lithium-manganese oxide
• lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese-oxide
• lithium-iron phosphate.
Batteries that use cathodes with nickel and cobalt (both rare), as well as solvent-based electrode processing, were found to have the highest environmental impacts. These include resource depletion, global warming, ecological toxicity, and human health impacts.
The largest impacts are those associated with the production, processing, and use of cobalt and nickel metal compounds, which according to the report may cause adverse respiratory, pulmonary, and neurological effects in those exposed. The toxicity impacts of lithium are also highlighted.
The report notes that recovery of metals at end of life can significantly reduce these life cycle impacts. This is because the extraction and processing of virgin materials are key contributors to impacts for all battery chemistries. Three recycling processes were analyzed:
• hydrometallurgical recovery
• pyrometallurgical (high temperature) recovery
• ‘direct recycling’, which allows for a higher percentage of recovered battery materials but is still in the pilot stage.
It may also be possible in future to refurbish batteries at end of life for use in computers or other electronics, or to rejuvenate them with new electrolyte.
Historically battery recycling has focused on recovery of cobalt because its value has risen in response to increased demand for battery manufacturing. However, the use of cobalt in batteries is projected to decline as battery technology evolves.
In addition to cobalt, battery recyclers may recover lithium, nickel and other materials. Demand for lithium is expected to grow significantly due to increased use of Li-Ion batteries in electric vehicles. Recycling will help to preserve virgin resources and reduce their environmental impact.
The report identifies a number of opportunities to improve the life cycle impacts of Li-ion batteries, including:
• increasing the lifetime of the battery
• reducing cobalt and nickel use
• incorporating recovered material in the production of the battery.