Responsible battery materials: advancing certification and reducing life-cycle impacts

Project completed by Future Battery Industries CRC which receives allocation of MRIWA funds.

The Challenge

Leading electric vehicle manufacturers are now expecting responsibly sourced materials to be used within their batteries. 

Currently, the lack of accessible data and a common approach makes it difficult for Australian companies to evidence claims of strong social and environmental performance and to support design for a circular economy. 

Key Findings

The project: 

• Identified pathways for certification, benchmarking, and supply chain transparency (including alignment with EU battery passport requirements).  
• Developed improved inventory data, refined methodologies for integrating mineral by-products, and assessed environmental impact variability across battery material production.  

• Forecasted end-of-life battery volumes and explored material recycling opportunities, highlighting potential for repurposing EV batteries in energy storage.  

• Mapped global networks influencing sustainability adoption, while analysing ESG risks in battery mineral investments to inform responsible financing strategies.  

• Proposed industry applications for digital sustainability tools, certification training, and IP commercialisation via open licensing models.  

Benefit to WA

By enabling transparent communication of sustainability performance along the supply chain, expectations of equipment OEMs and end-consumers can be met. Life cycle assessment (LCA) datasets and analyses for Australian battery materials developed enable customers in the battery value chain to make informed material sourcing decisions that consider the comparative environmental impacts consequences of production processes in competing regions.  

Report

FBICRC Certification Commonalities Report Spreads

DOI

Journal Articles 

Khakmardan, S., Li, W., Giurco, D. Crawford, R. (2024). Life cycle assessment of lithium carbonate production: Comparing sedimentary deposits. Journal of Cleaner Production 467: 142955.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.142955  

Khakmardan, S., Crawford, R.H., Giurco, D., Li, W. (2025). Understanding the effects of mining and processing parameters on Life Cycle Assessment of Greenbushes Spodumene production. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 59: 241-254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2025.08.014 

Khakmardan, S., Crawford, R.H., Giurco, D., Li, W. (2025). Constructing a life cycle inventory of Spodumene concentrate production: Greenbushes case, Western Australia. Journal of Cleaner Production 496: 145123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.145123 

Langdon, R., Berry, F. Barreto Lara, H., Giurco, D. Northey, S., Mendonca Severiano, B., Li, W. (2026). Battery minerals: a changing context for ESG reporting. BMC Environmental Science, 3(4). https://doi.org/10.1186/s44329-026-00046-w 

Mendonca Severiano, B., Northey, S.A., Giurco, D. (2024). Drivers and barriers of voluntary sustainability initiatives in mining raw materials for batteries. Extractive Industries and Society 20: 101552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2024.101552 

Mendonca Severiano, B., Northey, S.A., Hyman, J., Giurco (2025). Investigating the adoption of voluntary sustainability initiatives when mining for battery minerals: An iterative systems thinking approach. Journal of Environmental Management, 380: 124941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.124941 

Mendonca Severiano, B., Northey, S.A., Giurco, D. (2025). Mining industry networks influence the diffusion of innovations in the battery minerals sector. Environmental Research, Infrastructure and Sustainability 5: 035014. https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/adf5e1  

Zhou, H., Basarir, H., Poulet, T., Li, W., Kleiv, R.A., Karrech, A. (2024). Life cycle assessment of recycling copper slags as cement replacement material in mine backfill. Resources, Conservation & Recycling 205: 107591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107591 

Zhou, H., Li, W., Poulet, T., Basarir, H., Karrech, A. (2024). Life cycle assessment of recycling lithium-ion battery related mineral processing by-products: A review. Minerals Engineering 208: 108600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2024.108600 

Zhou, H., Li, W., Basarir, H., Poulet, T., Karrech, A. (2026). Comparative life cycle assessment of recycling nickel slag in various production industries. Cleaner Environmental Systems 20: 100387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cesys.2025.100387 

Conference Papers 

Khakmardan, S., Rolinck, M., Cerdas, F., Herrmann, C., Giurco, D., Crawford, R., Li, W. (2023). Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Lithium Mining, Extraction, and Refining Technologies: a Global Perspective. Procedia CIRP 116: 606–611, 30th CIRP Life Cycle Engineering Conference. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2023.02.102  

Khakmardan, S., Werner, T.T., Crawford, R., Li, W. (2024). Reevaluating the Land Use Impact of a Li-ion Battery Related Mining Project, A Case Study of Greenbushes Mine. Procedia CIRP 122, 31st CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2024.01.139   

Rolinck, M., Khakmardan, S., Cerdas, F., Mennenga, M., Li, W., Herrmann, C. (2023). Completeness evaluation of LCI datasets for the environmental assessment of lithium compound production scenarios. Procedia CIRP 116: 726-731. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2023.02.122