Bio-based materials and customized energy supply as key drivers to ecodesign primary portable batteries

Abstract

The rapid proliferation of electronic devices underscores the critical role of portable batteries as a source of energy supply. Conventional primary batteries have standard formats with pre-defined energy capacity, rely on the use of non-renewable and scarce materials, and are hardly energy-tailored for efficient energy utilization during their use stage. This paper presents a two-stage ecodesign framework to develop and iteratively improve the environmental performance of primary portable batteries. In the first stage, a battery prototype used as a demonstrator is developed based on the battery functional requirements and material configurations. Once the prototype is defined, in the second stage its potential environmental improvements are first evaluated through a qualitative assessment life cycle criteria by experts, and second quantified through a life cycle assessment. The combination of both methods helps to progressively improve the battery environmental impacts. In this study, we applied this framework and developed two environmentally improved versions. Changes implemented in the first and second iterative versions of the battery reduced the environmental impacts by up to 76% and 92%, respectively, compared to the original battery prototype. These improvements were largely driven by addressing key environmental hotspots, such as the membrane in version 1 and the casing in version 2. When compared to conventional coin-cell batteries, the developed bio-based batteries demonstrate environmental impact reductions by up to 76%, depending on the battery functional requirements. Overall, this cutting-edge ecodesign framework establishes a robust framework for developing future biodegradable portable batteries to integrate into sustainable electronics.