Pros and cons of batteries in green energy supply of residential districts — a life cycle analysis

Abstract

For the mitigation of climate change a switch to renewable energies in combination with battery storage and high efficient technologies, such as combined heat and power is necessary. To assess the environmental impacts of an electricity system model of a residential district, a Life Cycle Assessment is conducted. Different approaches of impact assessment methods are applied and compared. Based on the assumptions made, the use of a battery storage cannot always be recommended due to its dependence on the expected lifetime and capacity utilization in general. When the full cycle life of a battery storage is reached and the consumed electricity originates from photovoltaic an environmental advantage compared to the German electricity mix is created. Consequently, battery storage application can reduce the climate change potential in the conducted analysis up to −26%. A disadvantage is the introduction of a higher resource consumption compared to the German electricity mix. Noticeable is only a slight decrease in the fossil energy demand due to the utilization of natural gas by the combined heat and power plant. Furthermore, there is a displacement of mining or extraction of fossil fuels towards Russia, USA and Rest of World, which may influence the security of supply.