The Analysis of the CO2 footprint and life‐cycle costs of different batteries for stationary applications by scientists from HIU and the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS), published in “Energy Technology”, has been named one of the journal’s best articles of the year 2017.
The article CO2 Footprint and Life‐Cycle Costs of Electrochemical Energy Storage for Stationary Grid Applications determines life-cycle costs and greenhouse gas emissions of different battery technologies within stationary applications. It is part of the special issue “Energy Research at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology”.
The authors use an innovative combination of life cycle assessment, uncertainty simulation and battery size optimization. In contrast to previous works, they apply dynamic load profiles for the optimization of the size and lifetime of batteries and consider the potential influence of future technology developments like changing electricity mix or battery price decreases. Lithium-Ion batteries are found to be among the most promising battery technologies, due to their high performance and comparatively long lifetime. Classic lead-acid batteries, although cheap on the first glimpse, are less recommendable for stationary applications due to their low lifetime and efficiency.