Advancing Lithium-Ion Battery Safety and Sustainability at Iowa State University

Introduction to Research Initiative

An Iowa State University research initiative, led by Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Todd Kingston, is conducting critical safety and performance testing on lithium-ion batteries. This research directly supports several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those focused on energy, innovation, and sustainable communities. By investigating battery failure mechanisms, the project aims to provide vital data to enhance the safety and reliability of energy storage technologies, which are fundamental to achieving a sustainable future.

Methodology and Advanced Testing

The research leverages a specialized device, the Accelerating Rate Calorimeter (ARC), acquired through a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Naval Research. The ARC is designed to safely contain catastrophic battery failures, such as thermal runaway events and explosions, enabling researchers to push batteries beyond their operational limits in a controlled environment. This contributes to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) by utilizing advanced infrastructure to foster technological innovation.

The testing protocols include:

• Electrochemical Abuse: Pushing batteries beyond their specified charging and discharging limits.
• Thermal Abuse: Subjecting batteries to extreme temperatures to induce failure.
• Mechanical Abuse: Applying external pressure, such as in crush tests, to simulate physical damage and study mechanical deformation of internal components.
• Electrical Abuse: Simulating short circuits and other electrical faults.

Objectives and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

The primary objective is not to design new batteries but to generate comprehensive data that informs safer battery design, manufacturing standards, and usage guidelines. The findings are crucial for advancing several key SDGs:

1. SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy): By improving the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries, the research supports the widespread adoption of renewable energy storage and electric vehicles, making clean energy more reliable and accessible.
2. SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities): Enhanced battery safety is critical for sustainable urban infrastructure, including safer electric public transport and preventing fires in municipal waste management systems.
3. SDG 13 (Climate Action): Reliable energy storage is a cornerstone of climate action, enabling the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

Implications for the Circular Economy and Waste Management

A significant focus of the research addresses end-of-life battery management, a critical component of SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). Lithium-ion batteries are a growing cause of fires in garbage trucks and landfills, posing significant safety and environmental risks. Professor Kingston’s work aims to mitigate these dangers by improving the safety protocols for the entire recycling chain.

Key Areas for Improvement in Battery Lifecycle Management:

• Safe Collection: Developing better guidelines for the collection of end-of-life batteries.
• Secure Transport: Understanding failure risks to ensure batteries can be transported safely to recycling facilities.
• Improved Recycling Processes: Providing data to make the act of recycling itself safer and more efficient, promoting a circular economy for critical materials.

The research encompasses a wide range of batteries, from small consumer electronics to large-scale batteries used in electric vehicles, ensuring the findings have a broad and meaningful impact on global sustainability efforts.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

  The research on lithium-ion batteries is directly relevant to clean energy. These batteries are a critical component for storing energy from renewable sources and for powering electric vehicles, which are mentioned in the article. Improving battery safety and performance supports the transition to cleaner energy systems.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

  The article focuses on scientific research (“An Iowa State University researcher is using a special tool”) and technological improvement (“improving the safety and the performance of batteries”). This work, funded by a research grant, aims to provide information that informs the design and use of batteries, contributing to more resilient and sustainable industrial applications and infrastructure.

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  The article highlights a specific urban problem: “lithium-ion batteries have increasingly caused problems with fires in garbage trucks and landfills.” This relates to municipal waste management, a key aspect of sustainable cities. Improving battery safety and recycling processes helps reduce the adverse environmental and safety impacts of cities.

• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  This is a central theme of the article. The discussion about battery end-of-life issues, the dangers they pose as waste, and the need for better recycling directly addresses sustainable waste management. The research aims to find solutions for the safe transport and recycling of batteries, promoting a circular economy and reducing waste generation.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

   • Target 7.a: By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology. The research described, funded by a grant, is a direct example of promoting investment in clean energy technology (battery storage).

2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities. Improving battery technology makes the industries that use them (like electric vehicle manufacturing) and the infrastructure they support (like energy grids) more sustainable and safer.
   • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries. The article is entirely about a university research project (“Todd Kingston is an associate professor of mechanical engineering and says they want to learn how to prevent issues with the batteries”) aimed at upgrading the technology of batteries.

3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   • Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management. The article explicitly mentions the problem of batteries causing “fires in garbage trucks and landfills,” which is a municipal waste management issue that this research aims to mitigate.

4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

   • Target 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle… and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment. The research into safely handling and recycling end-of-life batteries directly addresses the environmentally sound management of this waste stream.
   • Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. The article highlights the need to “recycle batteries” and notes that the research could “help in the recycling process,” which is a key component of reducing waste.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article does not mention specific quantitative indicators, but it implies several ways progress could be measured:

1. For Target 9.5 (Enhance scientific research):

   • Implied Indicator: Investment in research and technology. The article mentions that the research equipment was purchased with a “grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Naval Research.” The amount and frequency of such grants for battery technology research could serve as an indicator of progress.

2. For Target 11.6 and 12.4 (Waste Management):

   • Implied Indicator: Number of hazardous incidents in waste management systems. The article identifies a key problem as “fires in garbage trucks and landfills” caused by batteries. A reduction in the frequency of these incidents would be a direct measure of improved safety and management of this waste stream.

3. For Target 12.5 (Reduce waste through recycling):

   • Implied Indicator: Recycling rate of lithium-ion batteries. The article states that waste haulers are “encouraging everyone to recycle batteries” and that the research aims to improve the safety of the “collection and transport of batteries… looking to be recycled.” An increase in the national or municipal recycling rate for batteries would be a key indicator of progress.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: radioiowa.com