There are four stages of the product lifecycle to consider:
Raw Materials
Manufacturing
With the growth in demand for electric vehicles, there is increased focus on the source of raw materials. Traceability and transparency of raw material supply chains are key, as is the focus on the reduction in the volume of critical raw materials needed. The most important raw materials for batteries used in battery electric vehicles are lithium and cobalt. Today, a battery electric passenger vehicle contains approximately 5 kilograms of each. 1 There are significant environmental and societal concerns related to the production of lithium and cobalt for electric vehicle batteries. The amount platinum catalyst used in a fuel cell electric vehicle is just 10 to 20 grams. 2 There has already been a 70% percent reduction in platinum used in fuel cell vehicles and that is expected to be reduced further. 3 In comparison, the supply chain for platinum catalyst used in PEM fuel cells is well established, as it is a material used in the catalytic converters of diesel vehicles today. The recovery process for this precious metal is in place, with approximately 95% of the platinum reclaimed at the end of life of a fuel cell.
Sustainable manufacturing is the creation of manufactured products through economically-sound processes that minimize negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources. 4 Sustainable manufacturing also enhances employee, community and product safety. For the past several years Ballard has been actively pursuing sustainability efforts that reduce our carbon footprint in product development, testing and manufacturing facilities co-located with our corporate headquarters. Our sustainability activities have, to this point, been primarily in two areas – energy management and recycling. An audit of Ballard’s carbon footprint completed in 2019 will allow us to measure important progress going forward.
1 World Electric Vehicle Journal 2 Deloitte China 3 Reuters 4 United States Environmental Protection Agency
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