Decade of the Battery: Sustainable Batteries Represent the Best Prospect for Meeting Paris Climate Goals
Alem Tedeneke, Public Engagement+1 646 204 9191, Email: ated@weforum.org
- Battery technology will enable transport and power sectors to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030, on track to meet the 2°C goal of Paris Agreement
- Battery revolution could create 10 million jobs, add $150 billion to the global economy in 2030 and provide electricity to 600 million for the first time
- Ten-year plan urges increased investment, concerted effort towards “circular” and “just” value chain as well as binding measures to reduce and eliminate child and forced labour in line with the Sustainable Development Goals
- Read the report here, and follow the Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2019 at http://wef.ch/sdi19
New York, USA, 19 September 2019 – Advances in the production, use and reuse of batteries mean that the technology could become the most significant intervention to keep global warming within the limits set by the Paris Agreement on climate change between now and 2030, according to a report published today.
The report, which was commissioned by the Global Battery Alliance, a public-private partnership led by the World Economic Forum, says that, with a concerted push to put the right conditions in place, batteries could enable a 30% reduction in carbon emissions in both the transport and power sectors. These two sectors alone collectively account for 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions today.
Such a reduction in emissions would help keep the world within its 2°C Paris Agreement goal, the report finds. It requires immediate action along the battery value chain alongside investments in other technologies such as hydrogen and in other industries. This would also contribute to achieving the more ambitious 1.5° goal of the Paris Agreement’s, the report concludes.
Keeping cumulative emissions from transport and power within the 2°C Paris carbon “budget”
In addition to examining the role batteries could play in helping to tackle climate change, the report finds that wider economic and societal benefits could also be accrued from systemically investing in the entire battery value chain from mining to reuse or recycling. In terms of employment, 10 million high-quality jobs would be created. More than half of these would be in emerging economies. Additionally, 600 million people would be provided with electricity for the first time. This would close the world’s existing energy access gap by 70%.
“Reducing the world’s carbon footprint is the defining challenge of the 21st century. For the next 10 years, modern batteries that are powering the 4th industrial revolution represent the greatest prospect for reducing atmospheric pollution from many of our most energy intensive economic activities,” said Dominic Waughray, Head of the Platform for Global Public Goods and Managing Director at the World Economic Forum.
Scaling up responsibly
Achieving the scale to make these goals achievable requires considerable change, the report finds. Firstly, today’s global battery value chain would have to expand 19 times the size it is today. This would require $550 billion of cumulative investments along the entirety of the value chain over the next 10 years, along with a set of targeted interventions. These could for example increase the productivity with which batteries are used, lower effective battery costs and cut greenhouse gas emissions along the battery value chain by close to 50% putting it on track to achieving net-zero emissions in 2050.
“We need to develop a sustainable, circular and low carbon value chain for batteries to contribute to the implementation of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals. But this task can only be achieved by effective cooperation between businesses, international organizations, governments and civil society,” said Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF and Co-Chair of the Global Battery Alliance.
Secondly, it would necessitate a huge expansion in mining: annual extraction of minerals by 2030 would weigh more than 300 Great Pyramids of Giza. Some 120 additional battery state-of-the-art factories would also need to be operational to meet required demand.
Most importantly, a structural shift would be required to make batteries sustainable from an environmental and human perspective. This includes making sure the entire value chain is “circular”, whereby batteries are reused, repurposed or recycled at the end of their life cycle or simply used more efficiently. For example, integrating battery-powered vehicles into the electricity grid at scale could cover 65% of demand for stationary battery storage and enable a higher renewable energy share in power grids globally, the report finds. Moreover, in 2030 recycling could provide 13% of global demand for cobalt, 5% of nickel and 9% of lithium. These shares are expected to grow as the volume of batteries reaching their end of life surge after 2030.
Furthermore, sustainable business operations must be enabled by boosting the share of renewable energy in the value chain. Finally, a more responsible value chain can be created through better business performance on established sustainability norms backed by traceability systems and effective local interventions to protect human rights, reduce and eliminate child or forced labour and boost local economic value creation. To this end, the Global Battery Alliance will publish and begin implementing in 2019 a roadmap of actions to reduce and eradicate child labour over the coming decade.
Course correction required
The potential for batteries to significantly reduce the world’s carbon footprint, create jobs, improve energy access and working conditions for those working in the industry will not be realized if the value chain develops along its current trajectory, the report finds.
While the battery value chain is expected to grow annually by 25% over the next decade, this level of growth will not be sufficient to help meet the Paris Agreement goals. Without focusing on waste and workers, such uncoordinated growth could even place more environmental and societal strain on our world.
To avoid such an outcome, the Global Battery Alliance today calls on all stakeholders to adhere to 10 recommendations aimed at building a circular, sustainable and responsible value chain. The GBA plans to engage all stakeholders to develop an implementation strategy to realize this opportunity.
Analytical support for this report was provided by McKinsey & Company, with additional work carried out on circular economy dimensions by SYSTEMIQ.
What the leaders say
"The vast potential of the global battery sector transcends boundaries across economies, industries and geographies. Harnessed appropriately, it may help meet the 2°C goal of Paris Agreement and create millions of safe jobs but also alleviate poverty and tackle ethical issues in the most vulnerable communities. This opportunity should be seized upon but, as this landmark report highlights, it is only through coordinated, collaborative action that we can achieve our collective global sustainability ambitions,” said Benedikt Sobotka, CEO of Eurasian Resources Group and co-chair of the Global Battery Alliance.
“Cost-efficient and sustainable batteries are one major driver to decarbonize road transportation as automakers will launch more than 300 battery electric vehicle models in the next five years. Around 70 bn USD additional value can be created by designing batteries for the full lifecycle and building businesses around vehicle-to-grid, second use, and recycling. The mobility transition requires new industry coalitions including the regulators - and it needs them now,” said Bernd Heid, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company, Inc.
"Next to ensuring that the production of batteries protects local population and environments, jointly developing a circular battery value chain is key to maximize their potential for keeping humanity within planetary boundaries. By designing batteries to be used in multiple applications – for example integrating vehicle batteries in energy grids –, reused for further productivity at end of their first life, and efficiently recycled, we can make the most out of them,” said Martin Stuchtey, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, SYSTEMIQ.
“Battery technologies not only contribute to reaching the Paris Agreement,but they are central to achieving a circular economy,” said Guy Éthier, Senior Vice-President, Supply Chain Sustainability, Umicore and Co-Chair of the Global Battery Alliance Executive Board.
"The demand for raw materials to fuel the battery revolution often poses risks such as child and forced labour, unsafe working conditions and pollution. It is critical that all stakeholders come together to take collective action. Increased investments to improve living conditions, tackle the root causes of child labour and to strengthen systems in the communities can ensure that global efforts to reduce the world’s carbon footprint do not create unintended consequences for the world’s most vulnerable populations,” said Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Deputy Executive Director at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).”
"The widespread implementation of battery storage represents a crucial opportunity to successfully meet the commitments under the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Battery storage can help to accelerate the penetration of renewable energy in the energy mix, optimize power systems and energy demand, improve the energy access rate and help decarbonize the transport sector, said Riccardo Puliti, Global Director for Energy and Extractives and Regional Director for Infrastructures in Africa at the World Bank Group; and Co-Chair of the Global Battery Alliance Executive Board.
The Sustainable Development Impact Summit takes place 23-24 September in New York. This year’s meeting will convene more than 800 regional and global leaders from government, business, civil society and academia. The meeting will explore four themes: transforming markets; accelerating climate action; financing sustainable development; and mobilizing action for inclusive societies.
The Co-Chairs of the Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2019 are Jesper Brodin, CEO and President, Ingka Group (IKEA Retail, Ingka Centres, Ingka Investments); Sebastián Piñera Echenique, President of Chile; Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands; and Melati Wijsen, Co-founder, Bye Bye Plastic Bags.
Notes to editors
Read the report here
Follow the 2019 Sustainable Development Impact Summit at http://wef.ch/sdi19
Read the Meeting Overview
Learn about the World Economic Forum’s impact: https://www.weforum.org/our-impact
View the best Forum Flickr photos at http://wef.ch/pix
Become a fan of the Forum on Facebook at http://wef.ch/facebook
Follow the Forum on Twitter at http://wef.ch/twitterRead the Forum blog at http://wef.ch/agenda
View upcoming Forum events at http://wef.ch/events
Subscribe to Forum news releases at http://wef.ch/news
The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.
The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. (www.weforum.org).