The Race to Revolutionize Battery Technology: Eliminating Forever Chemicals for a Sustainable Energy Future

The Hidden Environmental Cost of Modern Batteries

While lithium-ion batteries power our electric vehicles, smartphones, and renewable energy storage systems, few consumers realize these technological marvels contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—persistent “forever chemicals” that pose significant environmental and health risks. As global battery demand surges, researchers and manufacturers are racing to develop PFAS-free alternatives that maintain performance while eliminating these problematic compounds., according to further reading

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Why PFAS Became Battery Industry Staples

Dr. Jacqueline Edge, an associate professor at the University of Birmingham, explains that battery interiors represent extreme environments requiring exceptionally stable materials. “Inside a battery can be a highly acidic, high temperature and high voltage environment, which requires chemicals and materials that can withstand those conditions,” she notes. Fluorinated chemicals provide this necessary stability, making them ideal for critical battery components., as covered previously, according to industry analysis

Current commercial batteries typically use polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a PFAS compound, as an electrode binder and lithium hexafluorophosphate as an electrolyte salt. These materials ensure battery reliability and longevity but come with significant environmental trade-offs., according to related coverage

The Recycling Challenge and Environmental Impact

Dr. Edge highlights the recycling complications created by fluorinated chemicals. “We are not really targeting recovery of the fluorinated content of batteries at the moment: we tend to focus on recycling the metals,” she explains. “These fluorinated chemicals make the recycling process very much harder, because you need to dissolve the fluorinated binder to be able to recover the cathode materials.”, according to recent studies

The environmental persistence of PFAS compounds presents a long-term concern. “Fluorinated chemicals make recycling them so much harder,” Dr. Edge emphasizes. “And because we’re not really geared up to recover the fluorinated compounds, they will basically just be released into the environment in various polluting forms, and we really do need to prevent that, before we scale up the battery industry.”

Innovative Alternatives Emerging

California-based Ateios Systems represents one company pioneering PFAS-free battery manufacturing. The company recently announced a partnership with Kodak to mass produce high-energy battery electrodes using solvent-free, PFAS-free processes.

Rajan Kumar, CEO and founder of Ateios Systems, describes traditional battery manufacturing as “a slow, toxic and energy-intensive process” that has seen minimal innovation since the 1980s. His company has developed a light-based manufacturing technique that blends battery powder with liquid materials that harden instantly when exposed to electron curing.

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“This process requires no heat, toxic solvents or long-drying steps,” Kumar explains, “and has been verified by Intertek to contain no PFAS.” The innovative approach not only eliminates harmful chemicals but reportedly enhances battery performance through improved polymer adhesion and approximately 10% better capacity retention.

Circular Economy Advantages

The PFAS-free manufacturing process enables more sustainable end-of-life management. “Our process also allows you to make the battery and when it’s done, it can come back to the factory, you break down the polymer and reuse the materials to make a new generation battery,” Kumar notes. This closed-loop system allows manufacturing and recycling to occur at the same facility, creating a continuous, sustainable supply chain.

Kumar emphasizes the broader implications: “Having that kind of circularity will be really essential for us as a human race to get to another level.” As supply chain constraints tighten with China restricting key battery materials like graphite and LFP, and new PFAS regulations limiting chemical options, innovations like Ateios’s fully American-sourced, PFAS-free electrodes manufactured at speeds up to 80 m/min become increasingly valuable.

The Path Forward

The transition to PFAS-free batteries represents more than an environmental imperative—it’s becoming an economic necessity. As Dr. Edge observes, “From an economic point of view, from an occupational health point of view and from an environmental health point of view, it’s really worth trying to remove these chemicals, because 10 years down the line, when electric vehicles get to the end of their useful life, there will be many used batteries out there.”

The race to develop sustainable battery technologies reflects a broader shift toward circular manufacturing principles that prioritize both performance and planetary health. As regulatory pressure mounts and consumer awareness grows, the elimination of forever chemicals from energy storage systems may soon become standard practice rather than innovative exception.

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