Carbon Footprint of China’s Typical Electric Vehicle Batteries: A Data-Driven Approach

As electric vehicles play a pivotal role in China’s carbon neutrality strategy, the cradle-to-gate environmental impacts of electric vehicle batteries have become critical to sustainable industry growth. This study analyzes the material content of 100 mainstream power battery cells, which represent over 50% of the Chinese market, revealing that cathodes, anodes, and electrolytes collectively account for 70 to 85% of the total cell mass with systematic allocation differences: The average mass of cathode materials in LFP cells accounts for 41%, higher than NCM cells’ 36%. By employing the EverBatt model and constructing a Chinese EV battery cell carbon footprint influencing factor analysis model, the cell carbon footprints were assessed. The results show that LFP battery cells demonstrate a lower carbon footprint at 49.42 kg CO2-eq/kWh. In comparison, NCM variants exhibit significantly higher emissions: NCM811 at 63.08 kg CO2-eq/kWh, NCM622 at 64.86 kg CO2-eq/kWh, and NCM523 at 65.16 kg CO2-eq/kWh. Notably, the type of cathode material is identified as the primary driver of carbon footprint variations. The average NCM footprint exceeds LFP by 21.92 kg CO2-eq/kWh, representing a 44% increase. Regional electricity carbon intensity ranks second, where each unit increase elevates emissions by 6.38 kg CO2-eq/kWh. These findings provide critical data for establishing carbon footprint performance class standards for power batteries and directly inform low-carbon procurement decisions for sustainable electric vehicle development.