DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

the battery and transition the new technology from discovery to a mass-produced battery that will compete with a $41.1 billion lithiumion battery market.25

Ultimately, businesses are at the forefront of reducing carbon emissions, and this situation presents one opportunity for related businesses to reduce the carbon impact from waste produced by their very own products. Lithium-ion batteries are environmentally unsustainable and more so when recognizing the projected increase in EVs. Therefore, the major four manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries should partner with current research universities to develop organic polypeptide batteries to help accelerate the process, increase scalability, and provide a practical alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

Any new battery seeking to replace lithium-ion requires a higher energy output and an ability to be disposed of sustainably. Organic polypeptide batteries satisfy both requirements, proving they are an improvement over the current lithium-ion battery. Developing an entirely new battery to supply not just EVs but also cell phones, tablets, and micro-mobility platforms will be a daunting task, but in the end, this challenge is what businesses are meant to take on: identify a problem and create a valuable solution that will benefit society.

Though lithium-ion batteries revolutionized energy creation and provided a step in the right direction towards net zero emissions, it is time to address the process as a whole, rather than only emphasizing its shortterm utility. Transitioning to organic batteries that can provide even more energy while remaining more environmentally-friendly would do exactly this.

1 “Reduce Climate Change.” Www.fueleconomy.gov - the Official Government Source for Fuel Economy Information, www. fueleconomy.gov/feg/climate.shtml#:~:text=Highway%20 vehicles%20release%20 about%201.6,year%20for%.

2 Tiseo, Ian. “Global GHG Emission Shares by Sector.” Statista, 25 Jan. 2022, www.statista.com/statistics/241756/proportion-ofenergy-in-global-greenhouse-gas-emissions.

3 Mattioli, Giulio. “The Political Economy of Car Dependence: A Systems of Provision Approach.” ScienceDirect, Aug. 2020, www. sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629620300633.

4 Ibid.

5 “Reduce Climate Change.”

6 Lutkenhaus, Jodie, and Alexandra Easley. “The Path to Polypeptide Organic Radical Batteries.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 11 May 2021, engineeringcommunity.nature.com/posts/organic-radicalpeptide-batteries#contributors.

7 Crawford, Iris. “How Much CO2 Is Emitted by Manufacturing Batteries?” MIT Climate Portal, 16 Feb. 2022, climate.mit.edu/ ask-mit/how-much-co2-emitted-manufacturing-batteries.

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

10 Ibid.

11 Ibid.

12 Thompson, Drew. “Metal-Free Batteries Could Make the Industry More Ethical and Sustainable.” World Economic Forum, 18 May 2021, www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/ scientists-are-developing-a-new-metal-free-battery-which-ismore-ethical-and-environmentally-friendly.

13 Lutkenhaus.

14 Mattioli.

15 “A 4 V-Class Metal-Free Organic Lithium-Ion Battery Gets Closer to Reality.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 13 Apr. 2022, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220413090855. htm#:~:text=In%20 addition%2C%20 organic%20 batteries%%2020ave,1%2D3V.

16 Ibid.

17 Ibid.

18 “Electric Vehicle Market Growth & Forecast Analysis up to 2028.” Electric Vehicle Market Growth & Forecast Analysis up to 2028, Sept. 2021, www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-

Tarun Sivakumar

reports/electric-vehicle-market-101678.

19 Allied Market Research. “Battery Recycling Market to Generate $66.6 Billion by 2030: Allied Market Research.” GlobeNewswire NewsRoom, Allied Market Research, 22 Mar. 2022, www. globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/03/22/2407493/0/en/ Battery-Recycling-Market-to-Generate-66-6-Billi%20on-by2030-Allied-Market-Research.html.

20 Randell Environmental Consulting and Blue Environment prepared for the Department of the Environment. “Waste Lithium-Ion Battery Projections.” Waste Lithium-Ion Battery Projections - DAWE, 1 Jan. 1970, www.dcceew.gov.au/ environment/protection/publications/waste-lithium-ionbattery-projections#:~:text=Lithium%2Dio.

21 “A Closer Look: Lithium-Ion Batteries in e-Waste.” Sims Lifecycle Services, 31 Mar. 2022, www.simslifecycle.com/blog/2019/acloser-look-lithium-ion-batteries-in-e-waste.

22 Palandrani, Pedro. “Four Companies Leading the Rise of Lithium & Battery Technology.” Global X ETFs, 21 Apr. 2022, www. globalxetfs.com/four-companies-leading-the-rise-of-lithiumbattery-technology.

23 Ibid.

24 Thompson, Drew. “Researchers Develop New Metal-Free, Recyclable Polypeptide Battery That Degrades on Demand.” Texas A&M University Engineering, 5 May 2021, engineering. tamu.edu/news/2021/05/CHEN-researchers-develop-newmetal-free-recyclable-polypeptide-battery-that-degrades-ondemand.html.

25 “Lithium-Ion Battery Market.” Market Research Firm, June 2021, www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/lithium-ionbattery-market-49714593.html#:~:text=%5B249%20Pag es%20 Report%5D%20The%20global,12.3%25%20from%202021%20 to%202030.

Photo Credits:

Oton Barros/Wikimedia Commons—page 54

Vlad Chet/Pexels—page 56

Romaset/Adobe Stock—page 57

Phaisarnwong2517/Adobe Stock—page 58

"Lithium-ion batteries are often written as a huge technological advancement that will propel us into the future, but the truth is that if we really want to be environmentally-conscious, they are simply not the solution...From my research, I did not believe that Tesla was doing enough for their technology to be considered a 'solution.' While still innovative, I was trying to show that lithium cannot be our future if our goal is sustainability."