Purpose The carbon footprint of power batteries is significantly influenced by the carbon intensity of the electricity grid, which is undergoing rapid transformation. Power factor has emerged as one of the key factors affecting carbon emissions. This study employs a life-cycle carbon emission accounting model for power batteries to investigate the impact of dynamic power factor variations on carbon footprint. This holds significant importance for advancing the low-carbon development of the new energy vehicle industry. Methods Based on the characteristics of power batteries, a life-cycle carbon footprint accounting model has been constructed, spanning from raw material extraction to end-of-life recycling, to calculate the carbon footprint of power batteries. Sensitivity analysis was conducted across all manufacturing stages to identify key factors influencing carbon emissions. This study addresses the variable of electricity carbon emission factors by employing polynomial regression to forecast future generation shares of various energy sources. It simulates carbon emission levels under different electricity mix scenarios, quantifying the emission reduction contribution of grid decarbonisation to power battery carbon footprints. Results and discussion Results indicate that the carbon footprints for the raw material preparation, manufacturing, usage, and end-of-life recycling stages are 0.173 kgCO₂e, 0.144 kgCO₂e, 0.155 kgCO₂e, and − 0.00668 kgCO₂e respectively. Through electricity generation forecasting and data preprocessing, the study concludes that variations exist in the carbon footprint attributable to electricity consumption across the entire lifecycle of lithium iron phosphate batteries. Under the polynomial regression-based prediction scenario, the carbon footprint attributable to electricity consumption decreased to 0.270 kgCO₂e, representing an 11.80% reduction. The distribution of carbon emissions across life cycle stages also shifted, with a slight decrease observed during the usage phase. This indicates that optimising the energy structure partially mitigates carbon emissions stemming from electricity consumption. Conclusions This study investigates the carbon emissions across the entire lifecycle of power batteries, simulating emissions under different electricity mix scenarios. It quantifies the impact of electricity mix optimisation on the carbon footprint at each lifecycle stage, revealing the potential for significantly reducing the overall carbon footprint by increasing the proportion of clean energy.

Life cycle carbon footprint analysis of power batteries considering changes in electricity mix

期刊论文
发表日期：

2026年5月27日

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Ning Yu,
Lan Xia,
Zhiyi Ran,
Hao Zheng

摘要

Purpose

The carbon footprint of power batteries is significantly influenced by the carbon intensity of the electricity grid, which is undergoing rapid transformation. Power factor has emerged as one of the key factors affecting carbon emissions. This study employs a life-cycle carbon emission accounting model for power batteries to investigate the impact of dynamic power factor variations on carbon footprint. This holds significant importance for advancing the low-carbon development of the new energy vehicle industry.

Methods

Based on the characteristics of power batteries, a life-cycle carbon footprint accounting model has been constructed, spanning from raw material extraction to end-of-life recycling, to calculate the carbon footprint of power batteries. Sensitivity analysis was conducted across all manufacturing stages to identify key factors influencing carbon emissions. This study addresses the variable of electricity carbon emission factors by employing polynomial regression to forecast future generation shares of various energy sources. It simulates carbon emission levels under different electricity mix scenarios, quantifying the emission reduction contribution of grid decarbonisation to power battery carbon footprints.

Results and discussion

Results indicate that the carbon footprints for the raw material preparation, manufacturing, usage, and end-of-life recycling stages are 0.173 kgCO₂e, 0.144 kgCO₂e, 0.155 kgCO₂e, and − 0.00668 kgCO₂e respectively. Through electricity generation forecasting and data preprocessing, the study concludes that variations exist in the carbon footprint attributable to electricity consumption across the entire lifecycle of lithium iron phosphate batteries. Under the polynomial regression-based prediction scenario, the carbon footprint attributable to electricity consumption decreased to 0.270 kgCO₂e, representing an 11.80% reduction. The distribution of carbon emissions across life cycle stages also shifted, with a slight decrease observed during the usage phase. This indicates that optimising the energy structure partially mitigates carbon emissions stemming from electricity consumption.

Conclusions

This study investigates the carbon emissions across the entire lifecycle of power batteries, simulating emissions under different electricity mix scenarios. It quantifies the impact of electricity mix optimisation on the carbon footprint at each lifecycle stage, revealing the potential for significantly reducing the overall carbon footprint by increasing the proportion of clean energy.