Electric vehicle battery chemistry affects supply chain disruption vulnerabilities
Abstract We examine the relationship between electric vehicle battery chemistry and supply chain disruption vulnerability for four critical minerals: lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese. We compare the nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode chemistries by (1) mappi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46418-1 |
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| _version_ | 1849334325151006720 |
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| author | Anthony L. Cheng Erica R. H. Fuchs Valerie J. Karplus Jeremy J. Michalek |
| author_facet | Anthony L. Cheng Erica R. H. Fuchs Valerie J. Karplus Jeremy J. Michalek |
| author_sort | Anthony L. Cheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract We examine the relationship between electric vehicle battery chemistry and supply chain disruption vulnerability for four critical minerals: lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese. We compare the nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode chemistries by (1) mapping the supply chains for these four materials, (2) calculating a vulnerability index for each cathode chemistry for various focal countries and (3) using network flow optimization to bound uncertainties. World supply is currently vulnerable to disruptions in China for both chemistries: 80% [71% to 100%] of NMC cathodes and 92% [90% to 93%] of LFP cathodes include minerals that pass through China. NMC has additional risks due to concentrations of nickel, cobalt, and manganese in other countries. The combined vulnerability of multiple supply chain stages is substantially larger than at individual steps alone. Our results suggest that reducing risk requires addressing vulnerabilities across the entire battery supply chain. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a43b2037e5d44e23be52ec930c6b4d2d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-a43b2037e5d44e23be52ec930c6b4d2d2025-08-20T03:45:35ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-03-0115111110.1038/s41467-024-46418-1Electric vehicle battery chemistry affects supply chain disruption vulnerabilitiesAnthony L. Cheng0Erica R. H. Fuchs1Valerie J. Karplus2Jeremy J. Michalek3Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon UniversityDepartment of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon UniversityDepartment of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon UniversityDepartment of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon UniversityAbstract We examine the relationship between electric vehicle battery chemistry and supply chain disruption vulnerability for four critical minerals: lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese. We compare the nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode chemistries by (1) mapping the supply chains for these four materials, (2) calculating a vulnerability index for each cathode chemistry for various focal countries and (3) using network flow optimization to bound uncertainties. World supply is currently vulnerable to disruptions in China for both chemistries: 80% [71% to 100%] of NMC cathodes and 92% [90% to 93%] of LFP cathodes include minerals that pass through China. NMC has additional risks due to concentrations of nickel, cobalt, and manganese in other countries. The combined vulnerability of multiple supply chain stages is substantially larger than at individual steps alone. Our results suggest that reducing risk requires addressing vulnerabilities across the entire battery supply chain.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46418-1 |
| spellingShingle | Anthony L. Cheng Erica R. H. Fuchs Valerie J. Karplus Jeremy J. Michalek Electric vehicle battery chemistry affects supply chain disruption vulnerabilities Nature Communications |
| title | Electric vehicle battery chemistry affects supply chain disruption vulnerabilities |
| title_full | Electric vehicle battery chemistry affects supply chain disruption vulnerabilities |
| title_fullStr | Electric vehicle battery chemistry affects supply chain disruption vulnerabilities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electric vehicle battery chemistry affects supply chain disruption vulnerabilities |
| title_short | Electric vehicle battery chemistry affects supply chain disruption vulnerabilities |
| title_sort | electric vehicle battery chemistry affects supply chain disruption vulnerabilities |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46418-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT anthonylcheng electricvehiclebatterychemistryaffectssupplychaindisruptionvulnerabilities AT ericarhfuchs electricvehiclebatterychemistryaffectssupplychaindisruptionvulnerabilities AT valeriejkarplus electricvehiclebatterychemistryaffectssupplychaindisruptionvulnerabilities AT jeremyjmichalek electricvehiclebatterychemistryaffectssupplychaindisruptionvulnerabilities |