Electric vehicles (EVs) are a critical element of strategies for decreasing global greenhouse gas emissions. EVs are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which are material-intensive and require mining and processing that result in environmental and social impacts. Several governments, including the European Union, the state of California, and the Republic of China, have recognized that reusing, repurposing, and then recycling the battery at its end-of-life, also known as the waste hierarchy, is necessary to mitigate the externalities of the transition to EVs. Policy focused on the lithium-ion battery end-of-life have focused on recycling, and particularly on recovering cathode materials instead of the anodes and other materials, due to their comparably higher environmental, economic, and social impacts, as well as the geographical concentration of production. Prior studies have evaluated these impacts but have not considered the influence cathode chemistry and technological development may have on material circularity, resulting in a difference of material composition between batteries reaching their end-of-life and batteries currently being manufactured.

For policies intended to create a circular EV battery industry to be effective, the quantity of materials reaching their end-of-life, and the environmental and social tradeoffs between end-of-life solutions, must be determined. This research uses methods from industrial ecology, including material flow analysis and life cycle analysis, to address a gap in lithium-ion battery policy; in particular, the design and evaluation of policies that consider the rapid evolution of lithium-ion battery technologies which will result in decreased use of cobalt and an increase in energy density. Material flow analysis is used to calculate spatially and temporally resolved battery material flows and propose a method for calculating feasible recycled content standards, accounting for cathode chemistry mix, EV sales, and lifespan. Technoeconomic assessment is used to evaluate the cost of recycling, considering location, cathode chemistry, and transportation mode. Lastly, life cycle analysis is used to evaluate the material life cycle impacts of directly recycling high cobalt batteries in comparison to extending the lifespan through reuse.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the enabling technology for modern electric vehicles (EVs), allowing them to reach driving ranges and costs comparable to internal combustion engine vehicles, an important development with EVs being integral to greenhouse gas mitigation efforts. However, LIB advancements include the use of rapidly evolving and chemically diverse batteries as well as larger battery packs, raising concerns about battery production sustainability as well as battery end-of-life (EoL). This study seeks to respond to these concerns by analyzing potential pathways for EoL EV batteries, quantifies flows of retiring EV battery materials, proposes economically and environmentally preferable LIB EoL strategies, and recommends pertinent policies with an emphasis on environmental justice. The researchers used a loosely coupled dynamic systems model that utilized life cycle assessment and material flow analysis and a mixed methods research approach. They find that the U.S. can make significant gains in securing supply chains for critical materials and decrease life cycle environmental impacts through the adoption of Recycled Content Standard policies similar to those found in the European Union. In addition, they examine the currently understood waste hierarchy in the context of LIB technology. Comparing immediate recycling to repurposing and reusing, they find that repurposing and reusing reduces life cycle environmental impacts relative to recycling. This project also includes an investigation of EoL battery collection and transportation and the vehicle afterlife ecosystem, as well as general stakeholders in the LiB life cycle, informed by expert interviews and a case study of a developing lithium industry in Imperial, California.

View the NCST Project Webpage

There is recognition in the field of emergency medicine (EM) that social determinants of health (SDoH) are key drivers of patient care outcomes. Leaders in EM are calling for curricula integrating SDoH assessment and intervention, public health, and multidisciplinary approaches to EM care throughout medical school and residency. This intersection of SDoH and the emergency care system is known as social emergency medicine (SEM). Currently, there are few resources available for EM training programs to integrate this content; as a result, few EM trainees receive adequate education in SEM. To address this gap, we developed a four-part training in SEM tailored to EM residency programs and medical schools.

This curriculum, known as RISE-EM (Resident Instruction in Social Emergency Medicine), uses video lectures, case examples, and group discussions to engage trainees and develop competency in providing sound care that is grounded in evidence-based principles of SEM. In the current study, we tested RISE-EM by delivering the video lectures to residents and medical students in two training programs. We administered pre- and post-course knowledge tests and a post-course participant attitudes survey to assess the acceptability and potential efficacy of the program for improving SEM knowledge and attitudes among EM learners.

We found it to be both feasible and acceptable to introduce SEM content in residency conferences, with preliminary data showing statistically significant improvement in knowledge of the content and self-efficacy to apply it to their clinical practice. In summary, RISE-EM has been highly valued by EM learners and viewed as a strong supplement to their existing training, and it has been shown to successfully improve SEM knowledge and attitudes.