Batteries are a key to reach climate neutrality. They are needed in electric vehicles and to store energy from renewable sources. As they are very important for the green transition, the battery industry is growing in a fast pace. There is, however, fierce global competition and the battery prices have fallen rapidly. For example, the price of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in China decreased by 50 % in just one year and Europe is struggling to keep up with this pace. I believe Finland and the Nordic countries can anyway survive in this competitive field if we focus on the right topics and invest in them.
The Nordic edge in the battery value chain
The Nordic countries have several benefits related to the battery value chain. We have both minerals and expertise to produce raw materials for batteries. We have also excellent knowhow and industry working with battery recycling. In addition, the share of renewable and nuclear energy is high in the Nordics, and the grid is reliable. Thus, we have clean, reliable, and cheap energy available, which is crucial for an energy-intensive industry. Also, we have high quality battery-related education available.
One of the advantages of the Nordic countries is the willingness and efforts to collaborate. A great example of Nordic collaboration is the Nordbatt conference, which gathers researchers and industry representatives throughout the battery value chain. It was just recently organized in Oslo, and the next Nordbatt event will be organised by VTT and Aalto University in Espoo in 2026.
Sustainability is our driving force
Even though batteries are a must for the green transition, there are anyway also concerns among citizens, regarding the potential negative impacts on the society. These concerns, such as the use of toxic chemicals, carbon dioxide emissions from battery manufacturing, or increased need for mining, are well known also among researchers and industry. Luckily, there is a lot we can do to make batteries more sustainable. And this is where the Nordics can be the forerunners.
3 ways to enable sustainable growth
To give a few examples, I’m currently excited about three ways to make batteries more sustainable:
- Development of PFAS-free binders
PFAS materials refer to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are called forever chemicals due to their extreme stability. Their stability makes them great binders for battery electrodes. However, their toxicity causes problems, and PFAS materials are already a significant concern, causing health and environmental issues. For this reason, they are being banned in EU in the coming years. Even though battery industry is not the main source of PFAS in nature and PFAS materials do not leak out from batteries during their use, there is a risk of contamination during the production or recycling of batteries. Thus, it is of high importance to develop novel binder materials that are safer to use. It is not an impossible task and there are already examples of those in research and industry. However, we should still put more efforts in their development to make them better and suitable for several battery chemistries. - Biobased materials are a sustainable option to replace critical raw materials
Mining will be still needed also in future to enable production of batteries. However, some of the battery materials can be produced also from biobased sources, which will reduce the need for mining. One of the most mature examples is biobased carbon, which could replace the mined natural graphite, or fossil-based synthetic graphite. In the Nordics, we can utilise our expertise in the forest industry, and for example, lignin is already studied to be used as a raw material for battery anodes also at VTT. In addition to sustainability, such materials also enable a local value chain, which will increase the security of supply. However, carbon is not the only biomaterial, which can be used in batteries. It is also possible to use cellulose-based separators and biobased binders. And even some cathode active materials can be derived from renewable sources. - Dry coating will decrease the energy consumption of battery manufacturing
The conventional way to produce battery electrodes is to disperse the active material and additives into a solvent and coat them on a current collector. Drying of the electrodes consumes a lot of energy and can produce 40% of the CO2 emissions during cell manufacturing. The solvents used can be also toxic. Dry coating, which means processing the electrodes without any solvent, is a way to cut the energy consumption and cost and increase the safety. In my opinion, this will become the main processing method in future as it can also improve the performance and energy density of batteries since it allows production of thicker electrodes. We are already developing dry coating at VTT.
As I’m working with cell production, the examples were focused on that. However, there are also plenty of other ways to increase the sustainability, such as novel methods for raw material refining, which can decrease the water and energy consumption significantly.
Conclusions
Increasing the sustainability and safety of batteries is the only way in long term to create a business in the battery field. PFAS materials might be banned in batteries, electricity prices are volatile, safety of the workers needs to be secured, and there can be supply issues for the critical raw materials, such as graphite. Thus, making the batteries more sustainable and energy-efficient, and minimising the use of toxic and/or critical raw materials, will also make them more profitable. Not to mention the overall positive impact and citizen approval, which are both essential for the battery industry and society in general.
If you got interested, do not hesitate to contact me! We are looking for collaboration within these topics and would love to work with you towards a more sustainable and resilient future.
