Early-Stage Sustainability Assessment of Carbon-Nanotubes-Enabled Renewable Energy Technologies using Ex-Ante LCA and Sound Material-Cycle Index

碳纳米管（CNT）的一个目标应用是下一代锂硫（LiS）电池。碳纳米管的自支撑结构和导电性能使碳纳米管硫阴极的创新成为可能。这将改善电池性能，即，重量轻、充电速度快、能量容量高，并有可能降低电池生产的环境负荷。今年，我们根据实验室实验和预期的工业化工艺，对LiS电池进行了前瞻性的LCA。我们发现，Li-S电池可以实现每kWh电池容量60 kg CO2 e，比先进的NMC 811低近50%。这不仅与阴极材料的变化有关，也与阴极工艺的变化有关。

One target application of carbon nanotubes (CNT) is the next-generation Lithium-Sulfur (LiS) batteries. The self-supporting structure and current-conducting property of CNTs enable the innovation of CNT-sulfur-cathode. This will improve the battery performance, i.e., weight-less, charge-faster, and higher energy capacity, and potentially reduce the environmental loads of battery production.This year we conducted a prospective LCA of LiS battery based on our lab experiments and anticipated industrialized processes. We found that the Li-S battery can achieve 60 kg CO2e per kWh battery capacity, nearly 50% lower than an advanced NMC811. It is not only contributed by the change of cathode materials but also by the change of cathode processes.