Executive Summary
An EU EV OEM wanted to decarbonize their Li-Ion battery but didn’t know what would be feasible for their Chinese supplier.
Terralytiq partnered with the OEM to create a prioritized custom decarbonization roadmap they could take to their supplier. Using Terralytiq, the OEM identified 50+ decarb levers which reduced emissions by 75% with an average abatement cost of $85/tCO2. The EV OEM then took these business cases to their supplier and has begun deploying the highest value solutions.
The Situation
An EU EV OEM wanted to set decarbonization targets but didn’t understand what would be feasible to reduce their upstream scope 3 footprint. They knew their Chinese battery supplier was likely the highest source of emissions but didn’t have a starting point to figure out what they could do to decarbonize. Their biggest questions were:
- Where are the largest sources of emissions in the battery supply chain?
- What could be done about these emissions?
Terralytiq was the ideal partner due to our detailed supply chain modeling capabilities and easy to customize platform.
The Approach
- Created a customized decarbonization roadmap to identify the largest emission sources
- Calibrated the model to the chemistry of the specific battery cell (NMC 811) and unique supply chain
- Developed 50+ decarb initiatives with cost and carbon impact they could bring to their supplier
1. Created a customized decarbonization roadmap to identify the largest emissions sources
Terralytiq identifed the battery cells as contributing to more than 50% of the carbon footprint of the overall battery pack.
The investigation into the battery’s supply chain focused on the cathode and anode manufacturing processes, predominantly occurring within China.
2. Calibrated the model to the chemistry of the specific battery cell (NMC 811) and unique supply chain
Terralytiq generated a specific baseline across the 20 production steps. For the anode, emissions were traced to electricity consumption and feedstock - each accounting for 40%. The cathode revealed the processing of nickel- and cobalt-sulfate representing half of overall cathode emissions. Finally, cell assembly and finishing revealed that electricity accounted for almost half of the carbon emissions.
3. Developed 50+ decarb initiatives with cost and carbon impact they can bring to their supplier
The Impact
1. Obtained a detailed carbon baseline across the entire supply chain
2. Developed 50+ decarb levers for 2030 with detailed cost estimates
3. Decarbonization initiatives decreased emissions by 75% (from 100kgCO2/kWh to 25kgCO2/kWh) at an average abatement cost of $85/tCO2.
4. OEM took initiatives to finance their suppliers to start deploying solutions
Partnering with Terralytiq led to transformative decarb results. By choosing Terralytiq, the OEM can avoid 4.5 tCO2 per produced EV, roughly 225 ktCO2 per year (at 50k vehicles). The next steps for implementation were to use the business cases to finalize funding from the finance team and connect with suppliers to deploy solutions. Our vision is to remove 1 billion tons of CO2 (1GtCO2) from industrial supply chains before 2030.
Learn how you can build and implement your decarbonization roadmap at terralytiq.com
Download the PDF here.
